Transform Effect 1: Rise a Prime
by SOLDIER-MS
Summary: Two galaxies isolated from one another meet for the first time, just as the war between two opposing factions escalates. But the galaxy has more than first contact with a race of machines to worry about, ideals will be tested as an ancient evil returns to begin a cycle of genocide. A leader from the ranks of the Autobots must rise to stop both the Decepticons and the Reapers.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the Transformers or Mass Effect franchises

Hey guys, I don't have that many crossover fics and while I'm already working on a Mass Effect and Marvel crossover, I'm beginning to like this one more from the plans I have for it.

Basically this series will be like Mass Effect, a trilogy, it will follow a loose adaption of the Mass Effect universe but featuring some transformers lore and characters. Ultimately the main threat of the series will be related to the Transformers. As for the universe and characters, the main inspiration for Transformer designs came from the games War for and Fall of Cybertron. So when you are introduced to a character imagine their War For Cybertron look, or a WOC spin on their G1 designs. Or just imagine them as you've always wanted them to look :)

As for the universe, I'm trying to go with originality concerning the history of the Cybertron race though there will be inspiration from different series such as Prime, the Bay universe and the original cartoons including their Japanese spinoffs. I'm doing something slightly different in concern to the main Autobot we always want to see in a Transformers series, you might wonder from this first chapter and throughout the story where he is, but those people who know their Transformers know that he's there.

Anyway I hope you enjoy this first chapter, which is just a basic introduction to the universe and the first half of the Autobots arrival in the Mass Effect universe.

* * *

Transform Effect 1: Rise a Prime

Chapter 1: Personal Histories

The galaxy is a wide place, grander and more mysterious than anyone can imagine. The possibilities of life are near infinite, for every world produces their own sentient life and with their freedom they rise and accomplish wonders. Even the complex planet of Cybertron produced life, robotic organisms evolved in their forms and intellect and the great Cybertronian Empire was one that spanned the entire planet. They evolved, developed and became a near perfect society, every Cybertronian was created for a purpose, some were built to become warriors, others engineers, scientists and leaders, the Primes were the greatest of these leaders. For centuries Cybertron prospered and spread to the numerous moons of their solar system. But everything changed the day the mass relays were discovered.

Left behind by an unknown race, the mass effect relays utilised a technology that was foreign and inefficient to the people of Cybertron, the planet was self repairing and continued to produce the life blood of the Cybertron race, the mineral known as Energon. The Cybertronian high leader Vector Prime believed that the relays would be the beginning of a new age for Cybertron. But that age was not to be, for the Prothean Empire had other ideas. The Protheans were a galactic race that spanned millions of planets and life forms; all were forced to call themselves Prothean. But they did not wish to convert the people of Cybertron, they wished to destroy them out of fear of what a synthetic race would do to their empire.

Hundreds and thousands of Cybertronians were destroyed in the fighting and not even the society of warriors born could stop the relentless and unforgiving Prothean Empire. A hundred years passed and the war still continued, with the Prothean Empire gaining the advantage, they remarked that the Cybertronians were the most resilient race they had ever encountered. But like any race in the empire, they believed without shred of doubt that they would be victorious, that the Cybertronian's would welcome their intended purpose in Prothean society, destruction. However the tide of battle changed and the people of Cybertron found new hope in the form of two great leaders.

Sentinel Prime was one of the last surviving members of the Primes, though he commanded great respect, the people were ultimately inspired by the gladiator turned resistance leader Megatronnus. The army they built was magnificent, and at first no one believed that their group of security officers, racers and construction bots would accomplish as many victories as they did. In the end the Autobots claimed victory and drove back the Prothean forces. But the Prothean Empire would not allow Cybertron to exist, yet alone be known as the only world not to have fallen. A single Prothean science team corrupted the core of the planet, resulting in the corruption of its Energon reservoirs. Then the Prothean squadron retreated, destroying themselves and the Mass Relay, so that none could follow.

With only Sentinel Prime remaining from the council of elders, leadership of Cybertron was left in the hands of Megatronus and Sentinel. The people likened Megatronus to the former glory of the Fallen one and thus he took the name Megatron.

With Cybertron's natural resources depleted, Sentinel and Megatron rallied their people to seek a solution in the stars. Sentinel Prime took civilians and none combatants onto the Arc in order to find a solution amongst the wreckage of the mass relay network. Sentinel and Megatron however were divided by their beliefs, while Sentinel believed in combing uncharted worlds for Energon, Megatron believed that sacrifices had to be made, that like the Protheans they had to sacrifice other life forms if necessary. They argued and when they came to blows, the brotherhood and friendship they had formed shattered. Megatron left in fury, vowing to save his people no matter the cost. He formed his own army from the soldiers loyal to him and criminals both reformed and shackled to obey his will. From that day forward they were known as the Decepticons.

Millennia's past and the forces of the Decepticons and Autobots continued to battle one another over the fate of Cybertron and all other life in the galaxy.

* * *

The much wider galaxy however followed the path of the extinct Protheans, presumably weak from their war with Cybertron, the Prothean empire fell and those that came after them still try to determine why it happened. One such scientist researching the Prothean's fall was Asari archaeologist Liara T'Soni.

At the age of 106 she was considered a child by the standards of her Monogendered species. She sat alone at her dig sight, controlling the mechanised drones that carried out the daily digging operations. The drilling class Atlas mech moved out of her way as she examined her latest find. Her eyes widened with scientific wonder, for what she saw was a sight she hadn't seen in the fifty years since she had started studying Prothean history. She looked upon the carved image of a great battle, the Protheans fled before the presence of two giants whom stood side by side like brothers. Activating her holographic computer, the omni-tool, Liara began to contact the galactic council.

In the grand Citadel space station sat the council of races, consisting of Asari, the amphibious species known as Salarians and the avian/reptilian Turians. They were the three most powerful species in the galaxy and the most revered. But as it has been said before, the galaxy is wide and the possibility of life is endless. There were other species, Batarians, Raloi, Drell, Hanar, Quarians, Krogan and Vorcha and the newest additions to the galactic community humanity.

It was humanity that sought to become part of the council, and their first step was appointing a human Spectre. The Spectres were the hand of the council, operatives with the freedom to protect galactic stability at any cost. The main leaders of humanity, Representative Donnel Udina, Admiral Hackett and N7 leader David Anderson ran through their list of possible candidates.

"What about Shepard, Earthborn, but no record of her family," Udina said.

He bought up the image of the soldier, a young black haired woman with a stoic military gaze and lightly tanned skin.

"Doesn't have one, she grew up on the streets," Anderson said.

They cycled through her military history, a long list of N7 missions and near perfect military test scores. Hackett looked at a picture of Shepard with her fellow N7 operatives.

"She lost her whole unit on Akuze, she could have some serious emotional scars," Hackett said.

"Every soldier has scars, Shepard's a survivor!"

"Is that the kind of person we want protecting the galaxy?" Udina asked.

"That's the only kind of person who can protect it!"

* * *

"I don't think that's entirely accurate sir!"

Sentinel Prime was not the only Prime. There was another Prime equally valued amongst the Autobots, the captain of the autobot ship G2. Rodimus Prime stood as tall as Sentinel Prime, his metallic face watching his crewmembers with conflicted eyes. Behind him stood his lieutenant and former mentor, Autobot veteran Cup. They watched young Autobots pull open the energon filters of the generator and reload it with Energon crystals.

"Why don't you agree Cup?" Rodimus asked.

"You used to be more idealistic than this Rodimus, remember the days you wanted Megatron and Sentinel to ally to save Cybertron? That's why we saw potential in you lad, you were a thinker, but this is a very dangerous game, Sentinel wont like what you have planned," Cup explained.

"Space bridge technology is dwindling old friend, mass effect fields are the closest things we have to transportation units, our ships don't have nearly enough Energon to support thousand year flights, that was the mistake Sentinel made," Rodimus stated, looking out of the window of the ship.

He looked at the construction crew on the surface of the makeshift mass relay. The green and purple machines flew around the installation, adding cybertronian tech to the relay, in order to make up for the unusable wreckage left by the Protheans. Cup sighed and turned to the monitor station. He shook his head; Rodimus had ordered all squadrons to focus on either the mass relay reconstruction or data mining. One very specific team had chosen to disobey the order.

"Jetfire, prepare a shuttle, I'm heading for team Pax's location," Cup spoke into his built in communicator.

"Orion's team, don't be too harsh on them old bot, they're a good team and Orion's a good leader," the white and red aerial bot said.

The said team was located on a nearby asteroid, whilst the team leader and their medic were mining for information, the remainder of the team were all doing what they did best. Consisting mainly of bots of the scout class weight, the nimble members of the squad moved across the surface of the asteroid in their vehicle modes. The only member whom lacked a vehicle mode focused mainly on watching and commentating.

"Welcome to another incredible showing of Autobot rally where our contestants compete to see whose the biggest idiot on the field," the commentator was a red robot with a silver face and a yellow plate on his chest.

"Ha, there's no contest on whose the fastest here Blastar," a red cyber car said as it led the race.

"Focus more on inflating your tires over your ego Cliff Jumper," a yellow mini car suddenly dashed past the appropriately named Cliff Jumper.

"I'll take that as a challenge Bumblebee!"

"I thought this was a race," a pink and white robot sat next to Blastar.

"Just keep watching Arcee I'll be crossing the finish line first, after all the prize is a kiss," Cliff Jumper said.

"How's about I give you a kiss with my fist gear tosser," Arcee snarled.

"Hey easy sparklings, no need for the swearing, besides we all know whose going to win, I was racing the track since you bots were gleams in the matrix!"

"Oh and Cybertron's racing champion Jazz takes the lead, he's just near the finish line, wait Bumblee is gaining and…JAZZ WINS AGAIN!" Blaster yelled.

"YIPPEE-KI-YAY!" a hulking, red and silver armoured Autobot at the finish line pumped his fists.

The three racers turned into their forms one by one. Jazz resembled a rally car and had a visor over his eyes. Cliff Jumper and Bumblee both similarly had horns on their heads, but Cliff Jumper's armour was smoother and he was a few feet taller than Bumblebee. The scout sighed as Jazz bowed to Blasters imitated cheering. Blaster was their communications officer, Bumblebee, Jazz and Cliff Jumper were point men or scouts as they were commonly called, Arcee was a pure combat specialist and the biggest of the bots Ironhide was a weapons specialist.

"You know, this is technically going to be our final moments in Cybertronian space, do you guys know what that means?" Bumblebee asked.

"Yeah, whatever else is out there we're the ones making first contact, we're representing our entire species," Cliff laughed.

"Actually its Rodimus who will be representing us, any negotiations between species will go through him," Jazz said.

"Thank Primus cause if Cliff Jumper represented us we'd have a first contact war," Arcee said, causing Bumblebee to giggle and Cliff Jumper to frown.

"Ah'm hoping they're gonna be friendly cause the last thing we need is another enemy, between Megatron and Sentinel," Ironhide sighed.

"Rodimus believes in the path he's taking, Sentinel may not agree with it but he respects it, with any path we take there are going to be risks, we just have to believe in the people we've chosen to follow," Bumblebee explained.

"Ah thought the Major was the one with the speeches," Ironhide chuckled.

"You haven't been with the team as long as we have Jumper, Orion Pax chose to believe in Rodimus Prime, so we'll believe in him too," Jazz said.

A few miles away from the younger members of the team, their medic and their leader were both digging for materials. Working in separate caverns the two bots piloted tanks fitted with drills for tunnelling. The medic was a white and red robot with a silver headpiece; his form was appropriately based on an ambulance. He stopped his drill as he looked at a beacon on his HUD.

"Cup's hailing us Orion, we really need a new communications officer," Ratchet sighed.

The tank in the opposite chamber deactivated its drill and the pilot climbed out. He was a tall, thick armoured robot with blue armour and a red helmet with a grey plate over his mouth.

"There is something imbedded in the rock here Ratchet, I think Rodimus will be interested in seeing it," the robot said.

"Cup isn't going to be in a good mood Orion, we should hurry up and get back to the shuttle," Ratchet said.

"Just one moment Ratchet," Orion Major pulled a staff from his back, shaping it into an axe.

With a strong swing he picked at the rock, breaking pieces of it aside to reveal what his sensors had detected. By the standards of organic beings the object he found was large, but to a Cybertronian it was small, small enough to fit in the palm of Orion's hand. He yanked the object free of its makeshift pedestal and examined it with both his eyes and his energy sensors.

"What did you find Orion?" Ratchet asked.

"I recognise it from my days as a records clerk old friend, this is a Prothean data recorder," Orion said.

"Slag, its useless then," the medic sighed.

"No, while it's a common belief that these terminals were only capable of linking with organics, the information inside of them is still digitised, thus a simple hack of the lock will be enough to unlock its secrets," wires spread from Orion's fingers and connected to the Prothean device.

Green lines suddenly began to glow on the surface of the black obelisk. Orion froze as piles of information passed through his memory banks, becoming just as real as his own memories. He saw the small organics known as the Protheans, around the time Megatron rose to power. They were inside a ship of some kind, which shook no doubt because of the elite guards cannon fire. Both four-eyed creatures seemed to be panicking for a reason other than the pursuing Cybertronians.

"To think that the empire could be defeated so easily, where will we go? The Citadel?" one of the Protheans asked.

"No, the Citadel has been lost, we must blow the relay and rejoin the survivors," the superior officer stated.

"Survivors? Did the Metacon attack?"

"No, something else came from beyond dark space, we don't know what they are but the council has called them…"

Orion clutched his head as a series of incoherent images flashed before his sensors. He stored the corrupted data in his memory bank and stored the device in his equipment compartment.

"Lets return to the shuttle," he said.

He and Ratchet jumped off of the rocks, changing into their vehicle forms. They drove through the caverns, both slightly enjoying the sight of the small energon deposits they had found. In an age were fresh unrefined energon was raw the sight was appealing to the two Autobots. Though the Autobots were losing, both Orion and Ratchet held fast to the beliefs of the Primes. Orion himself had a strong moral core; even if Sentinel Prime himself ordered him to kill in cold blood he wouldn't do it. He drove ahead of Ratchet, dodging a rock at the last moment.

"Is something wrong Orion?" Ratchet noted his friend's absence.

"The information I found was corrupt, incomplete, I may be able to restore it but its current data troubles me, it implies that the Protheans didn't leave because of Megatron's counterattack," Orion explained.

"Do you mean that there was something besides us the Protheans fear?"

"I don't know my friend, what I do know is that something had come from dark space and it may be the very reason we have not had contact with the Protheans for fifty thousand years."

"True, our stasis cycles have gone uninterrupted, but something that was more frightening than the Prothean Empire…it seems a little farfetched," Ratchet chuckled slightly.

"I'm sure the Protheans felt the same thing about us and whatever was waiting for them beyond the relay," Orion sighed.

Orion and Ratchet transformed into their robot modes as they reached their shuttle. The younger members of their team soon followed, looking up at Cup's shuttle. Without speaking a word Orion motioned for the team to follow him into the shuttle. He and Jazz took positions at the piloting and auto piloting stations respectively. Blaster grinned sheepishly as Cup's hologram appeared at his communication station.

"Orion, what in the name of Primus was your crew doing?" Cup asked.

"I gave my crew permission to hone their combat skills sir, the responsibility for their behaviour is mine," Orion explained.

"HA! In my day we would have them at target practice, not racing around like sparklings fresh in their first bodies," Cup said.

"The racing assisted them with manoeuvres but I do admit they have been too caught up in the competitiveness of racing, I will accept a disciplinary but I must get information I have found to Rodimus and possibly Sentinel himself," the former record clerk explained.

"What information?" the combat veteran narrowed his eyes slightly.

"A Prothean data capsule left behind by their occupation forces, its incomplete but with time I may be able to decode it," Orion said.

"Negative Orion Major!"

The Autobots gasped as Rodimus's holographic form appeared beside Cup's.

"Once you have returned to base give the data to me, it may contain information we need once we have gone beyond the relay," the Autobot leader said.

"But with all due respect sir the capsule is incomplete, without knowing what it contains we will be making dangerous assumptions, until the data is complete we must prolong going through the relay," Orion explained.

"Your caution is noted Orion but I'm afraid we can no longer delay the launch, our allies are arriving," Rodimus said.

"Allies?"

The members of Orion's team widened their eyes as several jets flew past their shuttle. There were six in total, the leader was a white and red jet, the second had primarily blue colours across its armour whilst the second was black and purple. The other three jets were red, blue and grey and followed behind the first three. Orion's crewmembers watched them in fear, whilst the Autobots working on the surface of the mass relay looked up at the jets in horror. As soon as they saw the purple face symbols on the wings of the new arrivals they began to ready their weapons.

"All Autobots stand down, I repeat all Autobots stand down!" Rodimus's voice echoed through the radio channels.

The Autobots began muttering amongst themselves as five of the jets swung away from the leader. One by one the jets began to transform into their robot forms, landing amongst the Autobots like invited quests, calm yet rife with a smug superiority. Two of the Decepticons had identical bodies, but Skywarp and Thundercracker were both identified by their respective colours. The other three had the wings of their jet forms more apparent in their feet and had cone shaped heads, though not as well known Thrust, Dirge and Ramjet were just as deadly as their two superior ranked Seekers. Their commander, bearing the same body type as Skywarp and Thundercracker landed in the G2's docking bay, smirking as he looked at Jetfire.

"Starscream!" Jetfire growled.

"Is that anyway to welcome an old friend Jetfire?" the commander of the seeker squad asked, bearing a far greater sense of self-importance and arrogance than what his brethren had.

Jetfire narrowed his eyes and snarled as a heat blade extended from his wrist.

"Enough Jetfire!" Rodimus spoke sternly as he walked into the docking bay.

"Rodimus, what is the meaning of this?" Jetfire asked.

"A truce Jetfire, what Cybertron needs to survive, Starscream is here on Megatron's behalf," the Autobot leader planted his hand on Jetfire's shoulder, calming him slightly.

The docking bay doors opened and Orion's squad emerged from their shuttle, weapons armed and aimed Starscream. He raised his hands and scuffled back in fear, even falling to the ground as Orion stepped out of the shuttle bearing his massive path maker blaster. Cup soon emerged from the shuttle next to them looking just as bewildered as Jetfire had been.

"Commander…"

"WHY IS HE HERE!" Cup yelled, pointing his pistol at Starscream.

"Now, now l-lets not get h-hasty here," Starscream trembled.

Orion lowered his gun, causing his teammates to look at him in horror.

"What are you doing Orion?" Ratchet asked.

"Let Rodimus explain why Starscream is here before we pass judgement," Orion said.

The Autobots hesitantly followed Orion's example and lowered their weapons. Starscream lowered his hands and returned to his usual smug pose. He looked to Rodimus and bowed in mock respect. Rodimus exchanged a brief look with Orion, lowering his head slightly as Orion narrowed his eyes into a frown. Putting his hands behind his back, Rodimus walked out of the shuttle bay. Orion and Cup followed beside Starscream, the veteran made a point of glaring at the seeker as they followed their leader through the halls of the ship.

"We have energon to sustain us, but not nearly enough to restore a planet, Sentinel and Magnus would have us continue to wage a war to preserve our ideals or to claim revenge for those lost to us. But that is not the way, it will not save Cybertron and will only guarantee the destruction of both factions," the leader stated as he walked into the chamber of artefacts.

The chamber contained only a small amount of the artefacts that were the culture of the Cybertronian race. Rodimus's eyes passed over several pieces of broken tech before passing on an ancient wall carving. It portrayed the battle between the lance wielding Fallen one and the axe wielding Risen.

"Two shall clash, their ideals unwavering and sparks shining, one shall stand and rise a Prime, leader of our people, one shall fall to ruin!"

"The words of Primus, spoken in reference to his first children, Megatron and the first of the Primes," Orion identified the text that Rodimus had read.

"History has a habit of repeating itself, how long before we destroy ourselves with an unnecessary war?" Rodimus asked.

"I understand your words Rodimus," Orion said.

"Pax how could you, and how could you Rodimus, how many of our brothers have we lost, how many has Starscream alone killed?" Cup asked.

"I'd say about fifty," Starscream laughed.

"Peace should be made if it is at all possible, but if the Decepticons are willing Sentinel should be told so that we can negotiate," Orion explained.

"There is the problem Orion, Sentinel does not agree nor does Ultra Magnus, they are both stubborn, Magnus believes that Megatron must be destroyed and the Decepticons executed as war criminals, he would have us become as evil as he believes Megatron is, whilst Sentinel believes there is something in dark space worth finding, a miracle that will restore our world when the truth is we can only save our world by working together," Rodimus explained.

"A fine speech, Lord Megatron will certainly be willing to forgive any prior defiance to those whom surrender," Starscream said.

Cup and Orion walked to the cockpit of the ship and looked down in horror at the excavation sight. The seekers and construction drones revealed to be Decepticons themselves had begun tearing apart Autobots outside of the ship. Some of the Autobots however had changed their activation codes, converting the symbol of the red face into the purple colour of the Decepticons. In the mess hall, Orion's crew watched in horror at the sight of the Decepticons massacring their fellow Autobots. A door opened behind them and two Autobots stepped out, the security officer Prowl and the red weapons expert and guardian Warpath.

"Sorry bots, but we've been ordered by Rodimus to watch you," Warpath said, crossing his arms over the cannon on his chest.

"You keep apologising Warpath, the rest of you will go into a cell," Prowl said, he was always good at antagonising his fellow Autobots, it had made him a very unpopular ally.

"On what charge?" Ratchet demanded.

"Conspiring against the bearer of the matrix," Prowl said.

"Conspiring? We haven't conspired against anyone," Bumblee spoke up from behind Ironhide.

"Lets not get too hasty, we've got nothing to hide," Jazz said diplomatically.

"No way, we aren't going anywhere, we haven't done anything wrong, Prowl may be security officer but he has no right to detain any crewbot without sufficient cause," Arcee walked up to the taller Autobot, locking glares with the imposing bot without any show of fear.

"Wait, just explain to us why you're doing this," Blaster said.

Prowl palmed his face in frustration, Warpath however sighed and looked at Pax's team with a conflicted expression.

"Pax is an extremely popular member of the army, Rodimus was not the first recommended bearer for the matrix, Rodimus has a plan that will bring all factions together and to carry out that plan he can have no arguments against it," the guardian explained.

"Which means what? You'll execute us?" Arcee asked.

"No it means your team mates will be held in a cell indefinitely, you however Femmebot we might make an exception to," Prowl explained.

Arcee narrowed her eyes before she punched the taller bot across the face. Ratchet slapped his palm against his face whilst the younger Autobots laughed. As Prowl fell into Warpath's arms, nursing his jaw, Arcee rushed forward. Jazz however grabbed her by the arms, causing her to flail her legs at the security bot. Ratchet sighed, Arcee had more discipline in a combat scenario than her other young team mates but she was more defensive, she always rose to challenges. When she was a sparkling she had a very rude and disrespectful mouth. Fortunately her teacher was able to, figuratively speaking of course slap the sass out of her and replace it with military discipline. She still showed moments of passion however, such as in defending her teammates and the ideal that female Cybertronians were just as valuable as male ones.

"Now, now lets get not get too hasty here hit bot," Jazz said, using his affectionate nickname for Arcee.

"That's it, you six are going in a cell, Arcee I'll make sure you never hit another bot again," Prowl growled.

"ENOUGH!" Warpath yelled, knocking both Arcee and Prowl away from one another. "You are both warriors, start acting like it and until proven otherwise we will continue to regard Orion Pax as loyal to the cause as the rest of us!"

Prowl and Arcee turned away from one another, huffing. Arcee snarled at Cliff Jumper and Bumblebee, halting their laughter.

"I am getting far too old for this," Ratchet muttered.

Orion Pax squeezed his hands into fists as he watched the massacre of his Autobot brothers and sisters. He turned to Rodimus, making no attempt to hide his fury.

"Why Rodimus, WHY!" he yelled.

"There are too many Autobots stuck in the old ways Orion, you better than anyone know of the history of our race, of the destruction pointless wars of ideology have reaped. You were a simple records clerk when Megatron and I found you, you were invaluable in the war against the Protheans but a new war is coming, you are the best of us Orion, so much better…" Rodimus opened his chest cavity, revealing a orange orb with a glowing blue light at its centre. "So much better that the council recommended you bear the Matrix, yet you gave it to me…you saw greatness then Orion, believe in me now," Rodimus removed the device from his chest, holding it by the grey handles on its side.

"The Autobot Matrix of leadership," Starscream gasped, identifying the most powerful artefact of Cybertron, such a small device topped even the lost fortress and the star sabre because it possessed the collective wisdom of every Prime in the history of Cybertron.

Cup walked to Orion's side, showing the former record clerk his support.

"Please Orion, I'd rather you not be against me, think of your team, think of Cybertron," Rodimus said.

"I do think of Cybertron, I think of the peace we could create from first contact with the species outside of our galaxy…that is no peace craft the Decepticons have bought with them, I know you intend to go to war with the species beyond the relay and I can not and will not allow it to happen," Orion explained.

Rodimus lowered his head and sighed, lowering the Matrix. Starscream reached for his wing, pulling out the concealed blade on his shoulder. Cup noticed the slimy Decepticon's movement and drew his pistol.

"GREASY COG!" the veteran yelled, firing a blast past Rodimus's face.

The blast hit Starscream in the shoulder, causing the blade to slip from his grip. It imbedded itself in the console behind him, creating sparks of electricity and triggering warning alarms. Orion swung his fist forward, striking Rodimus in the jaw so hard that the matrix flew from his grip. Cup grabbed the matrix, firing his pistol again and again, taking down three Decepticon drones. Jetfire helped Rodimus off of the floor, watching his two former allies in shock as they barged through Thrust, Dirge and Ramjet. Orion punched Skywarp across the face, knocking him into the wall. Cup then jumped, kicking Thundercracker in the chest and sending him flying into the path of the blast door, preventing it from closing. The Autobots stepped off of the Seeker, running down the corridor.

"By Primus Orion just decked Rodimus," Bumblebee gasped.

"Pay up Cliff," Ironhide said.

"You two were betting on whether Orion would betray Rodimus?" Warpath asked.

"Whose the real traitor here, the bot trying to save our brothers or the bot having them executed?" Arcee asked.

"Why couldn't you all just agree with what Rodimus had planned, why must you all be so self righteous?"

"You're one to talk about self righteousness Prowl," Blaster retorted.

"Exactly the kind of reply I'd expect from a washed out radio broadcaster," Prowl huffed.

Seven Decepticon foot soldiers suddenly stepped up from behind Warpath, arming their bladed weapons.

"You'd need not join that traitor Orion Pax, don't go against us, a records clerk can only get you so far," Prowl said.

"Everyone's always screeching about how Orion was a records clerk, well guess what, he's twice the bot Megatron is and proven now, four times the bot Rodimus is, so go straight to the pit you piece of slag!"

As soon as the words left Arcee's mouth, Orion's team struck. They each collectively and instinctively knew that they all wanted to follow Orion. Ironhide threw a metallic orb towards the Decepticons, releasing a bright flash that disrupted their sensors. He and Ratchet then bulldozed through them, picking Prowl and Warpath up and throwing them into the drones. The other smaller bots ran behind them, kicking or punching the Decepticons to make sure they stayed down. Ironhide pulled a cannon from his back and fired at the blast door, knocking down the Autobot defectors on the other side.

"You could be a little more graceful, and quiet," Ratchet said.

"Sorry Ratchet, but Ah like to make a mess, leaves more debris to get in the way of the enemy," Ironhide laughed.

He replaced the barrel of his cannon, converting it into an automatic chain gun. Flurries of armour piercing rounds flew into the Decepticons in front of them and cut apart the door at the same time. Cliff Jumper and Bumblebee turned into their car forms, riding around the two bigger Autobots and charging towards the Decepticon brute waiting for them. Cliff Jumper hit its legs with his chain gun and Bumblebee launched himself towards the brute, turning to robot form and driving his sword through the Decepticon's eye. Blaster stopped at the blast door and connected with the main console, looking at the security cameras. He and Jazz clapped their hands together, cheering for Orion and Cup as they smashed and blasted their way through Decepticons. Orion bought out his axe and beheaded a Decepticon bruiser, then drew out his path blaster and shot two-foot soldiers. Cup traded his empty pistol for two chain guns and fired down the hallway, cutting apart the squad of Decepticons brave enough to try and stop them.

"Blaster, make sure our channel is secure, put Cup on our frequency as well," Orion commanded.

"Please boss bot this is me you're talking to, I had the channel secure as soon as you knocked out Rodimus, mean swing you've got there by the way," Blaster explained.

"Get to a shuttle as quickly as you can, Jazz you have command until Cup gets there," Orion said.

"All right, finally a promotion…wait what do you mean Cup?"

"What about you big bot?" Bumblebee asked.

"Our escape will be meaningless if the Decepticons follow us, once you are through the relay I will the ships cannons to damage the relay just enough to keep the Decepticons from following," Orion explained.

"Then I'll go, those sparklings need a leader they respect," Cup said.

"They need a leader who will get them through a war zone."

"You're wrong Orion, they need a good leader and you are the good leader, you shouldn't have rejected the council's offer to make you a prime…"

"Because I was not worthy of it, Rodimus was!"

"Perhaps at the time, but right now the matrix needs someone to keep it from Megatron's clutches just as your team needs its true leader," Cup explained, putting the matrix in Orion's hand.

"Only one Autobot can be worthy of the matrix, only one can light our darkest hour," Orion sighed.

"I know, but right now it'll have to be you…until you find that Prime we need," Cup said.

Orion hesitantly nodded his head before placing the matrix inside his chest. He shook Cup's hand and bowed his head in respect. Cup was a warrior born, one of the greatest in Cybertron, victory after victory against the Protheans had been because of his actions on the front line. As Orion ran down the corridor to the shuttle bay, Cup turned and began rotating the barrels of his chain gun, targeting the Decepticons cutting through the blast doors.

"Come on you slagging drones, come and see what the insides of a true warrior looks like," Cup yelled before lighting the corridor up in a flash of gunfire.

Blaster hacked open the doors for the shuttle bay and ducked his head, dodging an energy blast. The Pax team drew their blasters, meeting the Decepticons gunfire. Blasts seared through Decepticon armour, bullets pierced their optics and metal smashed against metal as Ironhide knocked two Decepticons to the ground, executing them with shots to the head.

"Get the shuttle prahmed Jazz," Ironhide said.

"That sounded an awful lot like an order!"

"Don't let the second in command role get to your head racer bot."

"Enough, we need to focus, we have to wait ten more minutes and then we can take off," Arcee said.

"Negative hitbot, we wait for as long as it takes, you heard Cup Orion now has the matrix inside of him and we cant let it get into Decepticon hands," Jazz explained.

"He is second in command," Cliff Jumper gestured to Jazz.

"Stop inflating his ego," Arcee groaned.

"Orion," Bumblebee muttered, concerned for his commander's safety.

"He'll make it, Orion has the makings of a Prahm within him," Ironhide said.

"Ironhide, since we might not make it can you tell us why you talk like that?" Cliff Jumper asked.

"Prothean beam weapon damaged my vocal pipes, should consider myself lucky, some bots can only communicate through beeps after damages like that," Ironhide explained.

"I did offer to repair the damage, it isn't irreparable you know," Ratchet said.

"Ah like talking like this, it makes me unique!"

"We don't have time to wait around any longer," Arcee said.

"No, we wait for Orion," Bumblebee retorted.

"Prepare the ship for launch Jazz," Orion said over the radio.

The team remained silent, listening to the blaster fire over the radio. They heard metal grinding against metal and the agonised cries of Decepticons. Orion cut through his enemies with his axe, the blade glowed orange at temperatures so hot that the armour of the Decepticons it cut melted. He deactivated the weapon as he rushed into the shuttle bay.

"ORION OVER HERE!" Bumblebee yelled.

Orion switched to his vehicle mode, dodging the gunfire of the Decepticons that opened the blast door behind him.

"Provide covering fire for the boss," Jazz said.

The Autobots aimed their weapons at the Decepticons, firing flurries of bullets and beams past their leader. Orion turned to robot mode and slid across the floor on his back, firing blasts from his path blaster that destroyed the remaining Decepticon drones. He grabbed Ratchet's hand, allowing his old friend to pull him into the shuttle as the hatch closed.

"LAUNCHING!" Jazz yelled.

The shuttle slid through the launch catapult and out into space.

"ALL DECEPTICONS SHOOT DOWN THAT SHUTTLE!" Starscream yelled over the radio.

"Don't let them escape," one of the Decepticons said as he began firing at the shuttle.

The Constructicons joined their brethren in firing at the Autobot shuttle. Bumblebee and Cliff Jumper mounted the rear gunnery seats, shooting at the Seekers pursuing them.

"FOOLS! YOU CAN'T ESCAPE!" Starscream yelled.

"Notice how he isn't pursuing them," Warpath whispered to Prowl.

"Go straight for the relay Jazz, Blaster link us to a system the Decepticons wont be able to follow through traditional space bridge transport," Orion explained.

"Yes sir," the communications officer nodded his head before linking via wireless with the relay. "I'm linked with their commercial data net sir, they call it the Extra-net, wow the things on here," Blaster whistled.

"Focus!"

"Sorry sir, lets see, its on the edge of something called the Terminus systems, there's a world there colonised by a species called 'humans' by Primus how do they do they get by being so small and fleshy?"

"FOCUS!" the Autobots yelled.

"Sorry, the colony is called Eden Prime…well that sounds like as good a place as any to get started," Blaster said.

"Any place would be better than here," Cliff Jumper said.

"Slag it, we've taken a hit," Arcee growled.

"We've got this, I've programmed the course boss, but there's no activity from the G1's batteries," Blaster said.

"Cup," Orion squeezed the edges of his seat, praying the Autobot veteran would find a way.

"Incoming from above," Ratchet warned.

Jazz tilted the shuttle to the left, dodging a rain of missiles from Dirge.

"Target locked on, NOW DIE!" the Seeker yelled.

Suddenly, a beam flew into Dirge's chest, cutting him in half.

"WHAT!" Starscream yelled, more astonished by the attack than angered over the loss of his fellow Seeker.

Another shuttle flew up beside team Pax's, piloted by the Autobot veteran.

"Get through the relay Pax," Cup said.

"What about you old bot?" Bumblebee asked.

"It's a one way trip bee, nothing but you bots should go through it…this isn't a shuttle I'm riding, it's a missile," Cup smiled.

"Till all are one," Orion said.

"Till all are one," the other Autobots joined their leader in what was not only a hope but also a promise to the dead.

"NO! DON'T LET THEM GO THROUGH!" Starscream yelled.

Jazz yelled as he dived towards the mass relay. The blue energy of its mass effect field gripped the shuttle and propelled it into deep space. Cup also dived towards the mass relay, but to the 'fork' area the Autobots had worked so hard to rebuild. He revved the engines to full heat, pushing them past the recommended limit. The shuttle slammed into the relay, generating an explosion that tore the tuning forks off of the relay. Explosions spread across the relay, sending pieces of debris crashing onto the Decepticons. Rodimus lowered his head as Starscream lived up to his name, screaming in horror at the sight of their work breaking apart.

"Sir, incoming ship detected," one of the bridge crewmembers said.

"On screen," Rodimus commanded, much to Starscream's displeasure.

The Decepticons and Autobot defectors, both on the surface of the asteroid and inside the ship widened their eyes at the massive ship that exited warp space. It looked like a flying fortress, with spires and layers of gun batteries on its black surface. Starscream whimpered in fear, recognising the ship as the Nemesis, the command centre of his master.

"Megatron isn't going to like this!"

* * *

"It doesn't really matter what he thinks," Nihlus Kryik said, huffing slightly at the absurdity of the question he had been asked.

It wasn't your everyday gathering. Whilst true everyday a Turian, a Salarian and an Asari sat together to discuss events of galactic importance, this meeting was taking place inside the Spectre offices of the Citadel. The Spectre office could only be accessed by people of that rank, there were no chairs to sit at as it was not a place of comfort. Nihlus was a Turian Spectre, one of their best agents and a personal overseer of the joint project the Turian hierarchy and systems alliance were working on. His fellow Spectres were infamous in their own rights and good at their jobs. Spectres required people willing to be ruthlessly efficient, to protect the interests of the council no matter what, but to do so in a way that let people know they were still safe. No one was better at that than the Asari Spectre Tela Vasir, Nihlus didn't know specific details but guessed she got a lot of her Intel from the Shadow Broker, meaning the Asari had to do some kind of favour. Nihlus personally didn't like Tela and admitted that he wouldn't be particularly disturbed if she did die on a mission. She was a good actor, able to hide her sick enjoyment of wet work from the council and military personnel. Nihlus however knew exactly what the job could do to, it took a certain mindset to do ruthless things as Spectres did. The Salarian Jondum Bau seemed like the kind of person who didn't have that mindset, but he was one of the best Spectres, he had a level head, intelligence and a drive people thought Salarians lacked.

"The decision to induct a human into the Spectres will not sit well with Saren, you know what happened the last time it was attempted," Tela said.

"That was never proven to have been Saren's responsibility," Nihlus countered.

Saren Arterius was a Turian like Nihlus as well as a Spectre. He was more than a mentor to Nihlus, he was also a friend and comrade. Nihlus would not defend his friend's xenophobia but he would defend his judgement on the qualities needed in a Spectre and thought David Anderson was a brilliant soldier and commander, he didn't have the background Nihlus believed was essential for the mindset of a Spectre.

"Responsibility is equal, Saren took the mission too far, Anderson could not carry out objective, both failed in a way," Jodum said.

"We are not here to discuss the past, we are here for the future, to add to our ranks a human Spectre. Their ambassador Udina has provided us a list of names, dossiers of soldiers presented to the council whom represent the best of what humanity has to offer," Nihlus explained.

"On that note I like this one," Tela said, putting one of those dossiers on the terminal. "Raised on a military cruiser, very powerful biotic testing scores, decimated enemy forces on Torfan and he got away with his breach of military protocol."

"Too ruthless, execution of prisoners is unnecessary, especially considering they were foot soldiers and not officers, psychological profile suggests anti alien views," Jodum listed.

"Who do you suggest then?" Tela asked, glaring at the Salarian.

Jodum's black eyes scanned the dossiers. He muttered casual rejections one after the other, finally finishing on the one suggestion Nihlus had been thinking of.

"Danielle Shepard, records indicate she had no family and that she survived mostly through petty crime, there was one instance of major crime but she was exonerated. Her military record is very different and very impressive too, broke her camps obstacle course record, it would remain set until one marine Ashley Williams broke it by a mere two seconds, made N7 status early in her career, fought through the Blitz where she received many awards for bravery and was able to take enemy positions with very little resources," Jodum explained.

"Very good, but I am worried about this mission on Akuze, Thresher Maw hive…don't get me wrong its remarkable she survived such an experience with only a few fractures and scars but that might have left some serious emotional issues," Tela sighed.

"Or it could have left her the drive to make a promise…to never let that happen again, her missions since then have had minimal casualties on both sides, her negotiation skills are top class and more than that she understands the kind of people likely to threaten galactic stability, she was a criminal herself you know," Nihlus explained.

"There, that little quote 'minimal casualties on both sides' you can not negotiate with terrorists, you wipe them out," Tela smashed her fist into her hand.

"Depends on demands really, humans have a saying, what was it? Oh yes, 'one mans terrorist is another's freedom fighter' though why it is men and not simply people in general I do not know," Jodum muttered.

"Her career hasn't been defined by a body count Vasir, it has been defined by her drive, her will. She showed a remarkable will to live since then and a remarkable drive to keep people from dying, she's no naïve idealist believing that education alone will prevent the formation of terrorist cells, she knows they have to be dealt with but she takes an approach to dealing with threats that ensures there is no bad blood…keep in mind certain methods provoke not just fear and anger too. As for Saren's view point it doesn't matter, once he sees the good Shepard can do he will change his tune, it doesn't matter that she's human it only matters that she can get the job done."

Jodum nodded his head in agreement over Nihlus's statement.

"Personally it would be good to have a Spectre who doesn't just blow stuff up," he eyes lingered slightly over Tela, causing the Asari to glare.

"Then its decided, as the three most senior Spectres present we will declare on our records that Jane Shepard shall be put forward for Spectre status," Nihlus said.

"Agreed," Jodum nodded.

"Very well, agreed, lets hope she does better than the last one," Tela huffed.

"Her performance on Eden Prime will be the first, but I have faith she will live up to my expectations," Nihlus said.

He knew that the galaxy would soon change because of his decision. But he had no idea just how greatly things were going to change. The sentient species of two galactic civilisations were about to meet for the first time and an ancient evil would return to reap its cycle again.

Next Chapter 2: Shakedown

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter. Please tell me what you thought of it, I've wanted to do a Transformers and Mass Effect crossover as well as I can.

Sorry to fans of Rodimus Prime, I like him too and I originally planned for Hot Rod to be the main autobot character. But then i thought of doing something different, a reverse of positions if you will. Orion Pax will be the main autobot character, if you've figured out who he really is then well done, he has a reversed colour scheme and he isn't quite the leader you know but he will be. The hint is in the title of the fic, I wanted to bring down the character we love to someone who has the potential to be great within him, but he hasn't fully adjusted to the responsibility behind him and the destiny ahead of him. Rest assured he will be the Prime you recognise by the end of the fic.

Though I'd go onto an interesting subject, which you're welcome to add to in the reviews too. Whilst I'm a fan of the original voice cast particularly Frank Welker and Peter Cullen I thought of certain voice actors who would do good at voicing certain characters, some already have voiced these characters others are actors I imagined speaking as I wrote dialogue:

Orion Pax: Jason O'Mara (played Albert Wesker in Resident Evil: Extinction but recently provided good voice work for Batman in the Justice League: War movie and will do so again for Son of Batman)

Ratchet: Jeffrey Combs (provided Ratchet's voice for the Prime series but before hand played the Question in Justice League Unlimited, plus I like it when he says 'I needed that!' which he will say a lot :)

Bumblebee: Johnny Yong Bosch (famous for being both a Black and Green ranger in Power Rangers, but has a good list of leading voice acting roles including Lelouch from Code Geass, Yukimura Sanada from Sengoku Basara and Ichigo from Bleach. Yet another whom has voiced this character, this time in the War For Cybertron game)

Rodimus Prime and Prowl: Travis Willingham (played Roy Mustang in Fullmetal Alchemist)

Arcee: Chloe Grace Moretz (famous as Hitgirl from the Kickass series and the Carrie remake, I just imagined her as the defensive Autobot who occasionally drops a swear word, yet kicks ass at the same time :)

Warpath: Jamieson Price (voiced Warpath in War for and Fall of Cybertron but has for the longest time provided the voice of Lu Bu in the Dynasty Warriors series)

Cliffjumper: Nolan North (voiced Cliff Jumper in Fall of Cybertron but also provided voice work for Desmond in the Assassin's Creed series, Smokescreen in Prime and Nathan Drake in the Uncharted series, oh and he also does the best Deadpool you'll ever hear)

Starscream: Steve Blum (voiced Starscream in Prime, but you've likely heard his voice in a lot of things :)

Anyway that's enough Transformers and their potential voice actors, might do more as I introduce more Transformers. Next time the Normandy crew and Commander Shepard will make their debut, as will Megatron.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers or Mass Effect

Glad I've got so many favourites and alerts, I hope everyone's enjoying the fic so far.

* * *

Transform Effect 1: Rise a Prime

Chapter 2: Shakedown

'Just another routine mission' was the common statement Shepard heard from the collection of crewmen gathered for the maiden voyage. Her shore leave of watching old movies and tinkering with old tech had been cut short, because apparently the maiden voyage of a joint Turian and human designed warship required a marine specialised in survival training and infantry combat in hostile territory. It also apparently required a war hero of David Anderson's calibre. Both a mentor and friend to her, Anderson wasn't the bean counter or council suck up that she expected to see captaining an experimental ship. Shepard had heard all of the rumours and scuttlebutt, that the project was a token gesture, a stunt from the ambassador and more supportive members of the alliance to the Citadel integration program. That was the unofficial name given to the alliances intention to join the Citadel council, to become part of the galactic community and share the same interests as the Asari, the Salarians and the Turians. Others however believed that humanity should stand on its own, while a small minority believed that humanity should dominate the aliens. That mindset was a minority and an unlikely conclusion to the tension between humans and aliens, the rich and elitist community whom had never had a hungry day or time of struggle in their lives. Shepard didn't see herself as better than anyone because of her strength of will, she was of the mind that people proved their superiority to others through their actions and being the best required following a very specific path. So Shepard wasn't against integration with aliens, joining the council of working together to create things, she just wondered why something like that required her attention.

The crew for the Normandy consisted of some of the brightest and most experienced minds the Alliance had. Head of engineering was Lieutenant Gregory Adams, a strict and intelligent engineer whom had served on every class of Alliance ship and had a good record for booting good engineering teams into shape. The chief medical officer was Karin Chakwas, she was from a long line of medical professionals and her dedication to the Alliance was unquestionable. Navigator Charles Pressly was in command of the CIC and navigational systems of the ship, Shepard had worked with him before and found that he was very good at his job and professional as well, even though he wasn't very open to the idea of contact with aliens. The Normandy's pilot was Jeff Moreau though the crew called him Joker, strangely when Shepard had first met him he had used a pair of crutches to walk around. She had no knowledge of his personal background but his reputation stated he was a good pilot; he just had a wit that most CO's wouldn't have put up with if he wasn't good at his job. There was a sizeable contingent of marines but most were green, in particular Jenkins, who in Shepard's opinion was too green to be part of the ground team. Though his test scores were good the private seemed too eager to prove himself, he wasn't yet aware of the ugly reality of warfare. On the other hand Kaiden Alenko was a welcome addition to the ground team, he had experience on his side and he was a sentinel specialised in biotics. Kaiden had a level head and an open mind that some people probably would have said was naiveté. But Shepard could tell that he had personal baggage that only made him better at his job.

Shepard stood away from most of the crewmen as she waited at Arcturus's docking bay with them. She shared the collective gasps of the other crewmembers as the Normandy pulled into dock. It was a frigate-sized ship that looked like it had manoeuvrability comparable to a fighter. She knew it would be a stealth ship and that it used a revolutionary element zero core, but all the other technical details had gone over her head, she was good with land vehicles and not ships.

"That's my baby," she head Joker say behind her.

"Amazing, you can see the Turian engineering in the wings," Kaiden noted.

The crew began assembling at the main hath with their duffel bags and footlockers. They followed Shepard's example and stood to attention, saluting as the door opened. Captain Anderson stood beside a Turian in red and black armour. Shepard eyed the Turian curiously, he was no diplomat and though every Turian had some form of military background, this Turian in particular had a look that said he was always ready for trouble. She noticed from the corner of her eye the awestruck look on Jenkins's face.

"Everyone report to your assigned positions on the ship, we have a long shakedown run ahead of us," Anderson said.

'Routine mission huh? I call bullshit,' Shepard thought as she followed her new crew into the Alliance's new ship.

* * *

The atmosphere on the G2 had become deathly silent. Everyone was afraid, including Rodimus and especially Starscream. Rodimus noted the low morale amongst the crew, particularly Jetfire, he had already defected from the Decepticons in the path. The Nemeris had already docked wit the G2 and the main hatch rotated, the grinding of the metal and deathly silence amongst the crew signalled the arrival of the most feared Decepticon. His tall imposing form stepped into the ship, his red eyes scanning the crew members, noting their fear with a masked satisfaction. His armour was primarily silver and purple with red parts on the chest and arms. A black cannon was attached to his right arm, his signature fusion cannon. Rodimus held his breath, recognising the transformer as if they had met yesterday, to stand before the holographic form of Megatron was daunting, standing before him in person was terrifying. Stood behind the leader was his cadre of followers, they were his personal guards, advisors and even confidantes, the only members of his army he perhaps truly respected or called friends. His intelligence officer, as cold and emotionless as his blue armour was Soundwave. Long ago Soundwave had relinquished the emotion centres of his processors to guarantee absolute loyalty to Megatron so that concepts like morality never got in his way. Though even more cold than the emotionless drone, Shockwave made no modifications to his person to effect his mind and loyalty to his master. Shockwave possessed a huge body capable of turning into a tank, his square shapred head and single red eye was a reflection of his focus on the restoration of Cybertron and the rise of Megatron, no matter the cost. He was a scientist whose ruthlessness had resulted in the creation of numerous weapons that ensured Decepticon dominance in the war. Next to Shockwave was Megatron's finest warrior, perhaps the most skilled and powerful fighter in the war. His body consisted of black wings, armour and a green plate on his chest, his arms and head were silver and a red visor covered his eyes. Sixshot had been compared to the wielder of the long lost star sabre, his skill in combat was second only to Megatron but his true power was in his ability to transform into six different forms, granted to him by Shockwave's experiments. Megatron stepped forward, narrowing his eyes at Starscream. The commander of the seekers quivered at the eye contact. Megatron's expression softened only slightly as he looked to Rodimus.

"Prime, good to see you, I'm glad you saw reason and I apologise for the loss of your men, were their deaths clean?" he asked.

"I had to personally execute four of my most trusted men, they would not follow me," Rodimus sighed.

"Surely you were not naïve enough to believe everyone would follow you, our path only has appeal to realists, traitors and cowards," Megatron cast his eyes coldly to Starscream and then to Rodimus, "which one are you?" he asked.

"I am a realist Megatron, Orion and Cup's ideals have no place in the Cybertron we will create," Rodimus said.

"Orion, that is a name I have heard before? Is he a soldier of particular note?"

"He's simply a library clerk leading a disorganised mob of burnt outs and sparklings," Starscream said.

"So he was no problem for your seekers!" Megatron expected one answer and turned to Starscream as the other seekers cowered.

"Well you see lord Megatron, as you know Cup is a soldier of notable skill, he gave his spark to allow Pax's team to escape…before he damaged it sir," Starscream motioned to the relay and backed away as Megatron squeezed his hand into a fist.

"I see and note that you have lost Dirge, it must have been painful to see one of your men die before your eyes," Megatron said.

"My men know the risks whenever I send them out lord Megatron," Starscream said.

"You didn't join the pursuit?"

"No lord Megaton I…" Megatron suddenly slammed his fist into Starscream's face, slamming him against the wall.

Megatron proceeded to punch the seeker again and again. The other seekers cringed and hid their amused expressions, though Starscream was their commander there was little respect for him. Starscream let out a yell as Megatron stomped his hand, partly crushing the fingers.

"You sent your men out and simply watched from a position of comfort as one was gunned down, I knew you were a coward Starscream but your stupidity…you have failed me yet again," Megatron snarled.

He was a warrior whom never tolerated failure and the Decepticons prayed that it was the Autobots whom faced the brunt of Megatron's anger and not them.

"I live to serve you lord Megatron, it was Rodimus whom failed, he foolishly put the matrix into Pax's hands," Starscream said.

"Is this true?" Shockwave asked.

"Yes, I believed that the gesture, would convince Orion of my trust in him," Rodimus said.

"You have both underestimated him, lord Megatron the last thing we must do is underestimate this Orion Pax," Sixshot said.

"Indeed, there seems to be more to this Orion Pax than meets the eye, formerly a clerk at the Iacon hall of records, I remember him now, he rallied a defence for the hall against Prothean raiders, he was too humble," Megatron explained.

"He must be eliminated and the matrix recovered or destroyed before he unlocks its power," Shockwave said.

"Ha, as if there is any kind of power to be unlocked, the matrix is simply a badge of honour, a tool to rally the Autobots," Starscream said.

"What did I say about underestimating the enemy's power?" Sixshot asked.

"Enough both of you," Megatron growled.

"Megatron, it was my fault that Orion managed to get the matrix, and the mission to explore the other galaxy was my idea…allow me to pursue Orion and reclaim the matrix," Rodimus bowed his head slightly.

Megatron put a hand to his chin. He knew the Protheans were no longer an issue. But he was cautious of danger, he wished for the military might of the other galaxy to be analysed before he deployed his invasion forces. Whatever technology was used by the species beyond the relay would either be a hindrance or advancement for Megatron's dream of rebuilding Cybertron and the establishment of an empire where strength and self determinism ruled. Rodimus approached him months ago with the idea of using the mass relay to travel into the other galaxy and plunder that community of their resources. He had seen first hand just how savage the Protheans were and according to both Soundwave and Rodimus the species beyond the relay had followed the same technological path as the Protheans, if so then in Megatron's eyes they were just as primitive as the great empire had been.

"Very well, Starscream, if you wish to prove yourself then accompany Rodimus, prepare your men for a long term away mission and then, when you have the opportunity, infiltrate the centre of their government and summon us," Megatron clicked his fingers and several drones walked out of the ship, brandishing pillars.

"Portable space bridge generators," Starscream gasped.

"Gives us a back door so we can crush the successors of the Protheans," Megatron closed his fist and his eyes, concealing his hatred of a species long past.

* * *

Orion Pax looked at the stars from the bridge of the G1. The galaxy beyond Cybertron was no different than the holos left by explorers in Iacon. But it was not the stars that captivated Orion, it was the sight of planets, planets of organic life and magnificent possibilities. He had never seen a sight more beautiful than the marble in the stars that must have been Eden Prime. But then the sombre silence took over and the truth kicked in. He had left Cup to die with just an old saying that had lost meaning to even the Autobots.

"Whew that was a close one," Cliff Jumper said.

"Cup died just now and the best you can say is that?" Arcee asked.

"I'm shook up about it too, but Cup willingly gave his life."

"So you won't mind if we don't grieve for you if you die?" Bumblebee asked.

"Enough, this isn't the time to be arguing or grieving," Orion said, turning away from the window view. "We are now in unknown territory, Ironhide begin prepping our weapons, Bumblebee and Cliff Jumper check our supplies, Jazz put us into disguise mode, Arcee remain at the gunnery station and do not fire unless we are fired upon first, Blaster check the data channels and discover this galaxy's form of communication!"

To their credit the Autobots began following his orders, even though they wanted time to mourn for Cup Orion had made the reality of their situation clear. Cliff Jumper and Bumblebee began searching the cargo hold for energon cubes and armour, whilst Ironhide did an inventory on their available munitions. Jazz switched the ship to disguise mode, using a hologram to turn into an asteroid and mimicking a drifting pattern. Ratchet got off his station and followed Orion onto the observation deck.

"Are we really going to make first contact Orion?" the medic asked.

"We are soldiers, we are the worst possible candidates, Rodimus was better suited," Orion sighed.

"With respect old friend, you are right about me and the others, you on other hand are the best candidate, even better than Rodimus," Ratchet said.

"Ratchet, we are not going to discuss this again," Orion turned away from the medic and head for the gunnery station.

"I wasn't talking about being a Prime but considering we've gone into that conversation again…"

"I am just a records clerk turned soldier Ratchet, Rodimus was a diplomat and Sentinel's student, what was I supposed to do?" Orion asked.

The pair stopped at Arcee's gunnery station and flinched slightly at her glare.

"Permission to speak freely sir?"

"That would depend on what you are about to say!"

"Easy Ratchet, yes Arcee please speak freely," Orion said.

"I know about you sir, my spark was forged from the melding of two civilians there. Anyway, I know what you did, how whilst Rodimus was willing to wait for Megatron's reinforcements you did not want to see another massacre of D-13, so you rallied the people, inspired them to fight and utilised tactics used by the Risen one millions of years ago. The council was ready to sing praises of you, no one had any doubt that you would become a Prime, but you downplayed your involvement, you gave credit to Rodimus. If you accepted your role in the defence of Iacon you would have become a Prime, you would have been Rodimus's commander and everyone would have been on your side and none of this would have happened!"

Ratchet remained silent as Arcee allowed her words to sink in. Orion lowered his gaze, noticing that Jazz and Blaster were both looking at him for a response as well.

"I know, I know," was all he could reply with.

"Why didn't you become a Prime? Why didn't you accept responsibility?" Arcee asked.

"That's enough, you've already spoken your mind, you don't get to talk down to your superior officer," Ratchet said.

"Because I didn't deserve to be a Prime, I did something no Prime would have done," Orion sighed.

"You ask me sir Rodimus has pretty much lowered the bar on what a Prime should be," Arcee huffed.

The door suddenly opened and Bumblebee and Cliff Jumper walked in.

"Well we've certainly got enough Energon for half a year at least, that is if we don't use that ground bridge," Cliff Jumper explained. "Hey what's the awkward silence for? Oh man did he reveal why he's an insecure cog, Arcee you were supposed to tell me!"

Bumblebee slapped his palm against his face, whilst Ratchet glared at the red racer.

"Ironhide, how is the inventory on the weapons going?" Orion asked.

"Ah'm betting there's enough ammo here to last us a month in the trenches, the bigger weapons will drain our Energon reserves so I'd recommend sticking to basic firearms and melee combat, shouldn't be a problem for you boss bot," Ironhide explained.

"Blaster, have you been able to gain enough information?"

"Well boss bot I managed to find out what the primary system of information flow is in this galaxy. They call it the Extra-net and I'm telling you the things they've got on here makes me envy the organics and how flexible they can be," Blaster grinned.

"Can we access is?" Cliff Jumper asked too quickly.

"Yep, give it a try," the communications expert gave his fellow Autobots the thumbs up.

One by one the Autobots linked their processors with the Extra-net. Streams of information flooded their minds, educating them on the history of the galaxy. Within seconds they were aware of the Prothean destruction and that the present galaxy was ignorant of how savage the empire was. They began to learn of the different species across the galaxy and their individual history, their cultures and languages. The information cycle passed and the Autobots experienced the subtle sense of dizziness that came with the mass download of information.

"Wow, those Asari," Cliff Jumper muttered.

"I knew the first word out of your mouth would be about the Asari," Arcee said.

"I'm hoping you're not thinking of dating an Asari, cause apparently these organics reproduce through…physical activities, yuck!" Bumblebee shook his head.

"We need to focus on Eden Prime and a means to make peaceful first contact with the humans," Orion said.

"Why the humans, why not go to Thessia or Palaven?" Ratchet asked.

"Ah agree Orion, if we're going to make first contact it should be with the big bosses," Ironhide said.

"The longer we stay in disguise the more risk there is of the council assuming we're hostile, I think Orion is right, we should make first contact as soon as possible," Jazz explained.

"Well we are going to have to hurry, cause I'm intercepting some distress signals and I mean a lot of distress signals," Blaster turned to his fellow Autobots sheepishly.

"Jazz bring us closer to Eden Prime and bring up a view on the main screen," Orion said.

Jazz nodded his head and pushed a few buttons at his console. He raised his head and gasped, sharing the collective reactions of the other Autobots. Black ships of some kind were moving into Eden Prime's orbit, the Autobots could see the signs of explosions on the planet's surface.

"What the hell?" Arcee looked to Orion in confusion.

"We know that this galaxy has not yet achieved a total peace, but those ships are not logged on the databases of any species in this galaxy, in fact they are not even utilising the same materials used by those species," Orion explained.

"Boss bot, those ships are known of, just not to a degree that a captain would be able to identify them by mere sight, they're called Geth sir," Jazz said.

"Geth, I thought they lived in the veil, why would they be attacking Eden Prime?" Bumblebee asked.

"Could they be responding in self defence? This galaxy is very ignorant of the development and sentience of inorganic life, which leads us to a big problem boss bot, if we go down there, what's going to stop them from attacking us because we're inorganic?" Blaster asked.

Ironhide and Orion looked at one another, they both understood the situation and what the Geth attack had provided them with.

"Thank Primus this attack has happened," Ironhide said.

The younger Autobots looked at him in shock.

"Ironhide could have worded it better, but to a degree he is right, this attack is good for us," Orion said.

"What? How can you say that Orion, there are people dying down there," Ratchet growled.

"We will save them," Orion narrowed his eyes as he turned to his troops. "This attack though tragic has given us an opportunity to prove not to the leaders of this galaxy, but to its people that we mean them only the greatest of goods, Jazz bring us out of disguise mode and head towards Eden Prime," Orion explained.

"I knew you would do the right thing Orion, but this may backfire terribly," Ratchet sighed.

"Blaster, open communications with the defence forces, Ironhide, Bumblebee, Cliff Jumper with me, Arcee stay at the gunnery station!"

"What about me Orion?" Ratchet asked.

"Move to the ground bridge and prepare equipment necessary for treating organics, we're going to be marking a lot of refugees for transport," Orion said.

"We're really going to do it Orion, we're going to save this colony?" Jazz asked.

Orion drew his axe from his back as Ironhide pulled out his blaster and Bumblebee his assault rifle.

"Yes!" the Autobot rebel said before he and his assembled ground team rushed down the corridor that would lead them to the cargo doors.

* * *

Shepard fixed the parts of her N7 armour over her hardsuit. They were roughly thirty minutes away from Eden Prime and Anderson had ordered Shepard to be in full gear for her meeting with Nihlus. The Turian was a Spectre and had become a common topic of discussion amongst the crew. He had also much to Shepard's annoyance been the person she saw most on the ship. Everywhere she went she would bump into the red and white faced Turian. It wasn't so much that Shepard disliked Turians or Nihlus himself. She didn't bear any hatred for the Turians over their 'welcoming' of humanity during first contact. Nihlus was professional and disciplined, looking at him painted a good picture for Shepard of Turians. After locking the final piece of her armour in place, Shepard thought of the report and orders Anderson had given her concerning the mission and her future.

"This mission is a lot more than a simple shakedown run," Nihlus had said.

"That's everyone guess, Captain I don't like this, information is a central part of every mission, knowing what we're getting ourselves into allows us to prepare both in terms of supplies and our mental state…right now the crew is nervous, the rookies are too eager and the optimists are too relaxed. You can't keep information from us sir, that's when things go to hell," Shepard explained, making her opinion of the mission very clear.

"This goes straight from the top Shepard, the information is on a strictly need to know basis," Anderson said.

"So in essence none of the crew need to know what they're getting themselves into?" Shepard asked.

Nihlus looked between the two humans, noticing the anger in Shepard's eyes and the apologetic look on Anderson's. The captain was a soldier who had to follow orders and the same thing applied to the commander. They were like Turians in that regard, they knew their orders and though they didn't like them they would follow them.

"We couldn't afford any security leaks prior to launch, the research team on Eden Prime have also kept a lid on their discovery as best as they could. A few days ago they unearthed a beacon, a Prothean beacon, you know the importance of this Shepard. The last time humanity found Prothean records our technology jumped by decades, and with Eden Prime so close to the borders of the Terminus systems this discovery could trigger an attack," Anderson explained.

"Obviously this goes beyond human interests Shepard, this discovery benefit all of council space. The Normandy, yourself and I have been tasked with the priority of escorting the beacon to a facility on Therum. There a Prothean expert Dr Liara T'Soni will study the beacon," Nihlus said.

"Why her and not researchers on the Citadel?" Shepard asked.

"Prothean 'experts' are hard to come by, a lot of our knowledge on Prothean history is mostly from their technology and ruins from their old worlds. We don't truly know anything about the Protheans, Dr T'Soni however discovered something on Therum, hand carver drawings detailing Protheans being driven away by giant beings of some kind, this has sparked the council's interest in securing Prothean data. But as it was humanity that discovered this beacon the Normandy has been employed for its pick up," Nihlus explained.

"I see, so that's why we have a spectre with us for a shakedown run," Shepard muttered.

"That's not all Nihlus is here for, he also here to evaluate you Shepard," Anderson said.

Shepard looked at Nihlus curiously.

"What is this about?" she asked.

"I've put your name forward as a candidate for the spectres, Eden Prime and Therum will be the first of many missions together, I will evaluate your performance and if you succeed you'll be accepted into our ranks," Nihlus explained.

Shepard huffed and shook her head.

"I see, thanks for the invite but I believe the Alliance needs to post me with a new unit," she said.

"This isn't about you Shepard, the spectres represent the council's power and authority if a human is asked to join its but one step towards humanity gaining a seat," Anderson explained.

"I'm a soldier Anderson, that's it, I go to fight a war or protect a colony's border and hopefully save lives during disasters, no offence to Nihlus but spectres are glorified wet workers I am not willing nor capable of the finesse and secrecy spectres need," Shepard stated.

"Being a spectre is about more than just a willingness to kill Shepard, I know what you did at Akuze, you showed a remarkable will to live…the spectres have too much ruthlessness, we need drive, the drive of an operative to live and to save other lives through the success of a mission," Nihlus explained.

"I am not going to be the alliances poster girl Anderson," Shepard said.

"The top brass approved this Shepard, I get what you're feeling I miss frontline work as well, but the alliance and Nihlus see that you can do more than that," Anderson explained.

Shepard sighed and hesitantly nodded her head.

"This is just a political move," she said.

"On the alliances part yes, on your part it can be so much more," Nihlus said, crossing his arms.

"Maybe, all right I'll do it, but only because the alliance has ordered me to and Nihlus…if you're to evaluate me then evaluate me, if you want a glorified yes-girl then give me orders, if you want a spectre let me do things my way, not your way my way…this was humanity's discovery so you'll let me handle this and judge me as a spectre for my results," Shepard explained.

"I understand Shepard, very well, this'll be your op, your orders…your call!"

Nihlus moved his hand into a Turian style salute and smiled as Shepard left the briefing room. He knew he had made the right decision to make Shepard a spectre. Shepard touched the inside of her locker door, gazing at the picture of her old squad. A part of her felt like she was betraying their memory, moving away from front line work for covert ops and enforcer work, the kind of things she left her old life on Earth to get away from.

'Forget that Jane, focus on the mission,' Shepard thought as she slammed the door shut and fixed her rifle to her back.

She moved through the corridors of the Normandy, saying hello to her crew for the foreseeable future. When Shepard reached the bridge she found most of the familiar faces talking amongst themselves. Nihlus and Anderson stood at the star map, overlooking the crew and seeming out of place amongst the relaxed crew members. Chakwas stood with Jenkins, discussing Eden Prime. It turned out that Jenkins grew up on Eden Prime, making him a colonist. Though there were cases like Akuze that showed how dangerous colonial life could be, Jenkins had been lucky enough to grow up in a colony were nothing happened.

"I signed up with the alliance when I came of age and I haven't looked back since," as Jenkins closed his conversation with Chakwas he noticed Shepard walking by. "Commander," he quickly stood to attention and pulled his best salute.

"Jenkins, Chakwas," Shepard nodded.

"We wont be at Eden Prime long will we commander I'm itching to get some real action," Jenkins said.

"I sincerely hope you're kidding corporal, your 'real action' usually involves me patching you up," Chakwas said.

"You need to slow down corporal, only an idiot goes looking for a fight," Shepard said.

"Sorry its just I've never been on a mission with a spectre before," Jenkins chuckled.

"Don't get him started commander, the spy vids have Jenkins's sense of reality confused with romantic legend," the medical officer shook her head as Jenkins sheepishly rubbed his head.

"Hey you'd make a good spectre Shepard," Jenkins said.

'You have no idea boy,' Nihlus and Shepard thought.

"They're always getting sent into unknown situations, forced to survive impossible odds, like you did at Akuze!"

"Fifty marines died there corporal!" Shepard snapped at Jenkins.

"I'm sorry commander…I didn't mean to offend you, I respected what you did there," the boy said.

"And I pray you have a very boring career Jenkins, for the sake of your life," Shepard said as she walked away.

"I didn't mean to…"

"It doesn't matter corporal, Shepard went through something you can't understand and like she said for your sake I hope you never do," Chakwas said.

Shepard walked past the pair and stood behind Nihlus.

"Captain, we have a transmission from Eden Prime sir, you better take this," Joker said over the intercom.

Nihlus's jaw flexed, whilst Shepard took her hands away from her 'at ease' position. They could both tell the stress in Joker's voice. Likewise Anderson recognised the rare urgency the pilot spoke with and motioned for his XO and the spectre to follow him. They walked around Jenkins and Chakwas and through a door that locked behind them. The conference room had been designed for mission briefings between senior crew and had quantum entanglement communicators for long distance communication.

"Put it on the main screen Joker," Anderson said.

Joker picked up the captains voice from the audio monitors and diverted the call. The holographic screen in the conference room showed a scene that turned the trio's stomachs. Gunfire echoed out of the speakers, combined with the heavy breathing of the marine whose eyes they were seeing through. His or her helmet cam was being used by the senior marine to convey the situation on Eden Prime. It had become a war zone, explosions threw up grass and dirt from the ground and lines of marines were mowed down by lasers of some kind. The marine turned to one of his comrades, a woman in white phoenix armour.

"Get down," she said, shoving the marine to the ground before firing at the unknown enemies.

His head turned, looking directly at the senior marine. He was afraid, just like every other marine under his command.

"This is Sergeant Donk of the two twelve, the colony is under attack by an unknown enemy, we are taking heavy casualties, they came out of nowhere GAAGH!" a beam suddenly flew through the side of his head.

The helmet camera turned and looked at the horrified expressions of the marines before looking to the sky. Red bolts of energy circulated around a hand like figure in the distance.

"Everything cuts out after that captain, everything else is distress signals from the city centre," Joker said.

"Reverse and hold at thirty eight point five," the captain said.

The footage reversed and stopped at the image of the hand. Upon closer inspection Shepard realised that it looked more like a monster with tentacles and then identified it as a ship. But it was unlike anything she had ever seen before and as she looked to Nihlus she saw that he was also at a lost.

"Wait…zoom in on the left side of that image," Shepard said.

Anderson looked at Shepard curiously as she narrowed her eyes at the silhouette on top of the ship. Whatever it was had the subtle shape of a person, a giant a third of the size of the Normandy.

"Can we clear that image up?" she asked.

"No, but I see it too commander," Nihlus said.

"This mission just got a lot more complicated," Anderson said.

* * *

Rodimus prepped his wrist blasters. He had already selected the people whom would follow him into the new galaxy. Prowl, Warpath and Jetfire were willing to go, but part of Rodimus felt uneasy. He could see the hesitation in Jetfire and prayed to Primus that if he did defect he wouldn't take Prowl and Warpath with him. His plan could afford no distractions, Starscream would be easy to work around, even though Megatron had assigned the Constructicons to go with Starscream's seekers Rodimus was confident that those troops alone wouldn't interfere with his grander plan. He cut his line of thought short as Megatron walked up behind him.

"Are your troops ready?" he asked.

"Yes Megatron, but I believe for the sake of the mission I should take the Combaticons instead of the seekers," Rodimus said.

"The Combaticons are a bomb Rodimus, the seekers are a knife, this operation will require subtly, Starscream is a coward but a subtle coward at that. I want to know whether you are truly dedicated to this partnership…you were friends with Orion Pax, what certainty do you have that allows you to betray your former allies so readily?"

"You believe I have an ulterior motive for approaching you?" Rodimus asked.

"You once believed that Sentinel would find a miracle in deep space, so much so that you rejected my initial offer, what changed?" Megatron asked.

"I received confirmation, of a way to save Cybertron without having to lose any of our people in the process," Rodimus said.

Megatron huffed sceptically, "it's a little late for that," he said.

"Lord Megatron!"

Several troopers suddenly walked into the room and Rodimus's gaze fell. They were dragging Cup's wrecked remains. His legs were hanging off of wiring on his knees, his face was half crushed and his chest had been ripped open, exposing the light of his spark, the life-giving core of all Cybertronians. Megatron turned to his soldiers and looked down at the broken veteran.

"Impressive defiance Cup, but it ultimately failed, we can still repair the relay," Megatron said.

"I may have failed, but he wont!"

Rodimus widened his eyes; his mentor was still clinging to life. Cup spat a blob of oil onto the purple insignia on Megatron's chest. Megatron smirked slightly and nodded to his men. They placed Cup onto his knees and stepped back.

"Who wont fail?" Megatron asked.

"Orion Pax, the Autobot whom will rise," Cup said.

"HA! That old legend," Starscream scoffed.

"The Autobot whom now bares the matrix, the one who will light our darkest hour," Megatron said.

"You know it I see, yes, though I have failed Orion Pax will not."

"Alls we want is the preservation of our home world, every decision I have made Cup no matter how cruel or dishonourable has been for the good of my people," Rodimus explained.

"But it won't end there will it? At least for Megatron it wont, you wont stop at our world will you?" Cup asked.

"No…I will not," was Megatron's only reply.

"Which is why I trust that Orion will rise and become the Prime to surpass all Prime's before him, he will stop you," Cup said.

Megatron raised his cannon and fired a single shot. Cup's body blew apart as the energy collided with his spark. Whilst his body began to crumble his spark began to fade, drifting out of the conscious world and into the all spark, where all Cybertronians joined. In essence, Megatron had executed Cup just as Cup had killed Dirge.

"Then I'll just have to kill him too," Megatron said as he crushed Cup's head with his foot.

Next Chapter 3: Roll out

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, I wanted to introduce Shepard in sort of an undecided Paragon/Renegade state, she talks back but she ultimately follows orders or at least orders that make sense to her. There's a history behind her dislike of Spectre authority and I'll bring that into play in later chapters. Likewise Orion probably isn't the bot you remember, he has some dark secrets, he doesn't see himself as worthy of being a Prime and there's a reason for that. I hope everybody liked Megatron, he was a tough one to write, I want to establish him as a ruthless character, a man driven by this intense anger but at the same time there's a reason behind his attitude.

Sorry to fans of Cup, but there wont be a rebirth for him. I'm going to give fair warning now, not every Transformer will survive, some of you may witness the deaths of characters you come to like.

00virtuezero made a choice on voice actor I didn't think of before, so I'm picturing Megatron with Ron Pearlman's voice. But I also thought of some more Transformers introduced in this chapter and last:

Jazz: Phil LaMarr (played Jazz and other characters in Transformers Animated, but has also voiced John Stewart and Static Shock in the DCAU, Aquaman in Young Justice and Injustice, Vamp in the Metal Gear Solid series and Hermes Conrad in Futurama.)

Shockwave: David Sobolov (voiced Shockwave in Transformers Prime but has also voiced Depth Charge in Beast Wars, Lord Tyger in Spider-man Unlimited and Lobo in Young Justice and Injustice)

Sixshot and Blaster: Roger Craig Smith (current voice of Sonic the Hedgehog, Chris Redfield from the Resident Evil series, Ezio Auditore from Assassins Creed and the voice of Batman in Arkham Origins. I imagine Smith's Zhang Liao voice from the Dynasty Warriors series for Sixshot and the tone he used for Sonic when I write dialogue for Blaster)

Ironhide: Keith Szarabajka (Has voiced Ironhide in the Transformers War for Cybertron series, but also voiced Harbinger in Mass Effect, the Didact in Halo 4, Cornelius Slatein Bioshock Infinite and also played Detective Gerard Stephens in the Batman Begins sequel the Dark Knight)

Anyway next time the Autobots arrive on Eden Prime, Orion sends Ironhide, Cliff Jumper and Bumblebee to rescue civilians whilst he investigates the area Sovereign orbits, the first human Spectre and the Autobot rebel meet for the first time as a dark figure from Cybertron's history returns.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Mass Effect or Transformers

* * *

Transform Effect 1: Rise a Prime

Chapter 3: Roll out

What was once a peaceful colony had become a war zone. Shepard knew there were other areas of the colony in need of help, but the Normandy's priority was securing the beacon. She checked the sight of her rifle before clamping it to her back. Jenkins and Kaidan had put on their standard blue alliance armour and stood lined up behind Shepard. Nihlus checked over his shotgun and rifle as Anderson walked to the front of the group. The main cargo hatch of the Normandy opened behind him, giving the ground team a good look at the devastation that had already consumed the colony. Jenkins usually bright demeanour sank into shock at seeing his childhood home burn.

"We're approaching the drop sight captain," Joker said over the intercom.

"We're getting you as close to the dig sight as we can, make your way over and secure the beacon," Anderson said.

"What about survivors captain?" Kaidan asked.

"Helping civilians is a secondary objective, but the beacon has to remain your top priority!"

Jenkins looked towards Nihlus as the Turian approached jump distance of the hatch.

"Nihlus, you coming with us?" he asked.

"I move faster on my own," the Turian said.

"Negative Nihlus, this is my op, the team moves as one I don't care if you move like the Flash when on your own we move as a single unit," Shepard explained.

Nihlus's mandibles twitched for a moment before he walked to Shepard's side.

"Very well commander, this is your op," he said.

"Alright, get ready to jump gentlemen," Shepard began walking to towards the edge of the hatch as the Normandy hovered over the drop zone.

It was a small hill overlooking what must have been a gorgeous view of the colony before the invasion. Instead of the bright green fields and housing units only flames could be seen, machines of war had replaced the sounds of the machines of honest working colonists. Shepard was the first to land, followed by Nihlus, Kaidan and finally Jenkins. They drew out their rifles, scanning the region for enemy activity. Apart from the distant gunfire everything was quiet, it reminded Shepard of the old vids she watched but she wasn't superstitious enough to believe that saying it was too quiet would jinx the situation. She kept her rifle out, never relaxing as she led her team down the hill towards a grassy area.

"What are those?" Kaidan asked, in reference to the strange wool like creatures floating around.

"Gas bags, don't worry they're harmless, we used to use them as target practice," Jenkins said.

Nihlus remained silent, keeping an eye and ear out as Shepard did. She moved ahead of the group, turning around a set of rocks towards a path that overlooked most of the colony. The Commander began to move forward, but stopped as she saw something in the clouds.

"Normandy, is there any activity in the skies?" she asked over the radio.

"Negative Commander, wait…yeah we just got a ping over the communication channel, I'll patch you in commander," Joker said.

The other members of the ground team put their hands to their ears as a voice echoed through their communicators. The metallic voice echoed in every communication channel in the colony. Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams took cover in a trench, putting a hand to her radio as Geth walked by her.

"This is communications officer Blaster of the G1 contacting all Edenians, wait what…they're from Earth? Well that's a terrible name for a planet, you might as well call it dirt…they're called humans? Why don't they call themselves Earthians? Or dirtians…"

"Turn that over to me Blaster, this is flight lieutenant Jazz of the G1 contacting all colonists of Eden Prime. You are under attack by Geth forces we are not part of the Geth collective, I repeat we are not part of the Geth collective we are the Autobots and we're here to help!"

Shepard widened her eyes slightly as a ship twice the size of the Normandy emerged from the clouds.

"Anderson was right, this mission did get a lot more complicated, keep moving," she said, forgetting the ship and moving down the path.

Her ears perked as she heard a whirring sound.

"GRAB COVER!" she yelled.

Nihlus and Kaidan immediately dived towards the nearest rock. Jenkins however hesitated and he paid for it. Two drones emerged from the rocks, floating above the ground, their pulse cannons aimed at Jenkins. The barrage of beam fire pierced Jenkins's shields and ripped through his armour. He let out a gasp of pain before he fell to the floor. Shepard grit her teeth together, she hated being right about rookies. Popping out of cover, Shepard activated the tech on her Omni-tool. Mass effect fields interfered with the weapon systems on the drones, blowing them both up.

"Clear commander," Nihlus said, checking the area with his rifle.

Kaidan knelt down by Jenkins and closed his eyes, making him seem more peaceful than his death had been.

"Ripped right through his shields commander, he never had a chance," Kaidan sighed.

"We'll make sure he gets a proper service when we get back, but right now I need you to stay focus staff-lieutenant," Shepard said.

"Sure thing commander!"

'She looks back at her allies but at the same time remains focused on the mission,' Nihlus noted.

"If that message was genuine then we don't have to worry about the rest of the colony, we move forward with our objective, secure the beacon for pick up," Shepard explained, taking up her rifle and moving down the path ahead.

* * *

In the skies above the colony, the Autobot G1 shuttle opened its main hatch. Orion gripped his axe firmly as he looked at the devastation the Geth had brought to the colony. He understood their violence against the Quarians, but an attack on a colony was unacceptable to Orion. Cliff Jumper slammed his fist into his palm in anger.

"What are the Geth doing? It doesn't make sense for them to attack a human colony," Cliff Jumper said.

"It goes to show that they haven't developed as much as we first believed, they're just as bad as the Quarians," Ironhide growled.

"Ironhide, take the young scouts and move into the civilian districts, I will go onto the frontline and deal with the Geth heavy units," Orion explained.

His three-squad mates nodded their heads.

"Till all are one," Bumblebee saluted.

Orion took a running start and jumped out of the hatch. He spread his arms out, controlling his descent through the clouds of the planet. His sensors zoomed in on the Geth colossi marching through the plains towards the major civilian districts. Orion switched to his truck mode and engaged the rockets beside his wheels, slowing his descent. What would have been an unceremonious crash turned into a smooth drive onto the ground. Orion fired his chest-mounted rockets at the first colossus he saw, destroying its legs and bringing it to the ground. The other Geth colossi immediately responded to the loss of their 'comrade'. They altered their positions, walking on paths that would have put them on a direct collision course with Orion.

"Commencing jump," Ironhide said.

"COMING THROUGH OLD MAN!" Cliff Jumper yelled, barging past Ironhide and living up to his name.

Bumblebee hit his face with the palm of his hand as Ironhide shook his head. Cliff Jumper switched to his car mode as he landed, squashing two human sized Geth troopers. He revved his engine, throwing bits of dirt off of the floor with his wheels before he accelerated down the dirt road.

"Commencing rescue operation," Ironhide said as he and Bumblebee landed.

"We're following you guys, Arcee any movement from the ships in orbit?" Jazz asked.

"They're moving back one at a time, it almost seems like they're close to getting what they want," Arcee said.

"Medical lab is set up and all instruments are configured to treat organics, I took the liberty of activating the Minicons," Ratchet explained.

The Minicons were human sized drones ideal for exploration in small places. Ratchet however reprogrammed them with the medical knowledge that would be needed to treat humans. Knowledge of a species biology was all Ratchet needed to treat a patient. On the surface of the planet, the Autobot trio rolled into the housing district. Geth patrolling the streets diverted their attention away from the homes and looked towards the three unique vehicles rolling down the road.

"Time to show em what you learnt at boot camp boys," Ironhide said.

Cliff Jumper and Bumblebee bought out the machine guns mounted on their hoods, firing flurries of bullets into the Geth platforms. They then moved to the side as Ironhide bought out his holoshield, blocking the Geths pulse rifle fire. He then rammed the platforms head on, crushing them like insects on the windshield. The trio skidded round a corner, coming to a halt in the city centre. Two squads stood either side of them, armed with missile launchers and plasma shotguns and backed up by bigger Geth platforms.

"They call themselves…HA HA HA! Hey Bee check this out, these bigger Geth are called Primes, HA!" Cliff laughed hysterically, his engine revving with every chuckle.

"Prahms huh, hope they live up to the name," Ironhide grunted.

The Geth Primes began firing heavy blasts from their rifles. Colonists daring to look out of their windows were shocked when the three vehicles transformed. Cliff Jumper and Bumblebee took the left, firing their blasters whilst Ironhide took the right flank down with blasts from his twin arm cannons.

"Feeling lucky punks," he said firing until the last Prime went down.

Bumblebee heard gunfire in the distance and immediately switched to vehicle mode. He sped past Cliff Jumper and moved towards the edge of the district. Geth fired on a civilian transport. Bumblee transformed and jumped at the troopers, squashing two with his feet and then kicked another one across the road. He looked towards the tanker and raised his hand as the driver aimed a pistol at him.

"Easy, I'm here to help," Bumblebee said, confident that even if the human did fire the pistol wouldn't damage him.

"Help, what are you?" the driver asked.

"Here to help, do you have any wounded with you?" the scout asked.

"Yeah, my sister, she took a hit to the head when our truck was blown off the road, a few houses in the rest were also hit really bad by the attacks," the young man explained.

"Ironhide, Cliff Jumper did you two get that?"

"We're already there Bee," Ironhide said.

He moved pieces of rubble aside, scanning the humans underneath for life signs.

"We've got some organics just clinging to life here Ratchet, marking them for ground bridge transport," the weapon's expert scanned a green light over the humans.

A blue light then formed around the wounded, taking them off of the ground and directly into the G1's med bay. Minicons began applying injections to the patients, giving them anaesthetic and setting their broken bones. Cliff Jumper rammed his hand into a burning house and pulled out some of the humans trapped inside. A green light from Cliff Jumper's eyes swept over the wounded, marking them for ground bridge transport.

"Got some major burn victims heading your way Ratchet," the scout said.

"Roger that, preparing disinfectants, cleaning the burns is as much as I can do, we'll need to get them to medical facilities on Eden Prime equipped for handling burns. Boys you'd better find the wounded quickly and stand ready for an attack," Ratchet explained.

"He's right guys, I'm detecting several Geth drones heading for your position," Blaster said.

"I've got them Blaster," Orion said.

He skidded between two colossi and shot one point blank with his missiles. The shockwave from the explosion threw him into the air. Orion transformed to robot mode and fired blasts from his path blaster, hitting a colossus's legs and bringing it to the ground. The colossi began firing electric blasts from their eyes, forcing Orion to bring out his foldable shield. He blocked with one hand and shot with the other, hitting vital points in the necks of his targets. One shot would damage the armour and a second was enough to melt through it, damaging the circuitry enough to behead the creatures. Orion vented the heat from his weapon and ejected the ammo clip. Mechanisms on the gun automatically loaded a new clip attached to the side of the gun, giving Orion Pax another full clip of eight shots. He clipped the blaster to his side and took out his battle-axe.

"Blaster, run a full diagnostic scan on that ship in the distance," he commanded.

"Already done boss bot, the scanners seemed to short out," Blaster said.

"All of our warning alarms go off too whenever we even go near it, its as if the G1 is frightened of it sir," Jazz explained.

"That lightning effect, no ship should be capable of something like that, not even the ships of the pre-Prime era," Orion narrowed his optics at the strange ship lingering over the dig sight. "Ground team status report!"

"Moving some of these fleshies into safer zones boss bot," Cliff Jumper reported.

"Finding more wounded along the outer edges of the city sir, especially around the farming areas," Bumblebee explained.

"Bumblebee don't go too far out!"

"Don't worry big bot I'm AGH!"

"BUMBLEBEE!" Cliff Jumper yelled.

"Don't break formation kid, we remain on the civvies," Ironhide said.

"Bumblebee report!"

"Minor damage to my back sir, those hover drone things got a lucky shot in, but they're pretty easy for me to outrun, I'm taking some civilians towards Eden Prime's own medical facility," the scout explained.

"The plan was to bridge them to our ship," Orion said.

"I know big bot but we cant cramp the G1 full of refugees and Eden Prime's medical facilities are better equipped to handle certain wounds," Bumblebee flipped over a hill and opened his doors, allowing three civilians to exit with a burnt farmer.

"Thank you," one of the men said as a doctor came out with a stretcher.

"We're way out of our depth here big bot," Bumblebee sighed as the humans rushed into the hospital.

"Protect the hospital Bumblebee, Ironhide, Cliff Jumper are there any more wounded in your area?" Orion asked.

"We couldn't find any Orion," Cliff Jumper said.

"Blaster, bridge the remaining people in the housing units to the G1, then take them to the medical facilities on the colony, the hospitals will need human volunteers to assist them, Ironhide and Cliff Jumper you both drive around the outer rims of the colony, find isolated farming communities and assess them for transport to the hospitals," Orion explained.

"What are you going to be doing Orion?" Ratchet asked.

"Investigating that ship," Orion narrowed his optics before running at the colossi.

He jumped over an energy blast and beheaded the tank like creature. Swinging around, Orion cut another colossus in half, and then deflected the bullets fired by another. The Autobot soldier rammed through one of the colossi, lifting its legs off of the floor and cutting its belly. He used the Geth as a shield, blocking blasts fired by its allies before throwing the wrecked body aside. Orion swung his axe left and right, beheading one colossus after another. Twirling the axe in his hands, Orion jumped at the final colossus and split its head apart. He folded the axe back to its deactivated state and slammed his fist into the ground. The parts of his body began folding, linking together. Wheels folded out of his back, which became the belly of a truck. His transformation complete, Orion blazed his rocket boosters and rammed through the rocky terrain in front of him, heading straight for where the hellish ship lingered.

* * *

Ashley Williams ran faster than she ever had in her life. Adrenaline and determination influenced her combat performance in a way it never had before. She was fast enough to outrun Geth drones, but she wouldn't let fear take her. A strike against her barrier, pushing her shoulder as if it had been shoved served to remind her that she didn't want to die running. She jumped, turning and landing on her back. The barrel of her pistol flared, bringing down her two pursuers. Ashley rose from the grass and looked towards the Geth in horror. They ignored her, and instead placed a soldier onto some kind of platform. He had been stripped of his armour and was just regaining consciousness. A spike suddenly shot out of the platform, skewering him in midair. With their work done, the Geth pulled out their pulse rifles and turned to Ashley. An orange aura suddenly covered the Geth,s causing them to twitch and spark. Two bullets then bought them down. Shepard and her team emerged from the trees behind Ashley, causing her to sigh in relief as she regained her breath.

"Are you all right?" Shepard asked the marine.

"Just a few scrapes ma'am, Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the two twelfth," Ashley said.

"Commander Shepard of the Normandy, I need a status report Williams!"

"We were patrolling the area when the attack hit, they ambushed us ma'am, took us completely by surprise, the rest of my squad went down and I've been fighting for my life ever since," the gunnery chief explained.

Nihlus knelt by the body of a Geth, activating his Omni-tool to run a diagnostic. The memory was fried manually once the bullets hit the Geth's vital areas. He looked at the machine, comparing it to archive records of Geth given to the council by the Quarians. They turned over basic information for the Citadel species in the event the Geth ever returned; in exchange the Citadel council didn't interfere with Quarian pilgrimages.

"They're definitely Geth," the spectre said.

"The Geth haven't been seen outside the veil for thousands of years, why come back now?" Kaidan asked.

"Doesn't matter at the moment, Williams what do you know about the beacon?" Shepard asked.

"It should just be a few clicks ahead of us, the dig sight is straight ahead."

"Good, take point and show us the way."

"Yes ma'am, time for some payback," Ashley narrowed her eyes as she replaced her pistol with her rifle.

"What about that broadcast, about the Autobots?" Kaidan asked.

"I heard bits of it, it didn't make a lot of sense to me," Ashley said.

Shepard ducked behind cover, firing bursts from her rifle to bring down the Geth ahead of them. She climbed over a rock and kept her Omni-tool active. Incineration tech flew from her hand, burning a Geth rocket trooper to slag. Kaidan ripped rocks off of the walls with his biotics, creating makeshift cover that protected the squad from the approaching Geth troopers. Ashley, Nihlus and Shepard then gunned the troopers down with rifle fire.

"They certainly didn't sound human, the voices almost seemed metallic," Shepard said.

"A Geth trick maybe?"

"It seems possible Lieutenant Alenko," Nihlus muttered.

"Lets not count out the possibility of help yet gentleman, I'd rather not have a repeat of Shanxi," Shepard said.

"I agree," Ashley nodded.

"You believe this may be a first contact scenario?" Nihlus asked.

"I'm just saying, lets keep an open mind until we have evidence that states otherwise, making assumptions and not listening to all the facts is dangerous, at the same time we should be cautious enough to be ready for a fight if it comes," the N7 explained.

She relaxed her posture slightly as they entered an area with digging equipment around it.

"This is it, the beacon was right here it must have been moved," Ashley said.

"By our side or the Geth?" Kaidan asked.

"Hard to say, there were lodgings for the archaeologists ahead maybe we'll find something there," Ashley suggested.

"Move out," Shepard said, leading the squad over the hill.

After a few minutes of walking the team arrived at the lodgings for the archaeologists, expecting a fight. The Geth forces there however were decimated, the 'dragon's teeth' had been destroyed and the metallic, humanoid figures that had been impaled on them had been torn apart. One had been slammed repeatedly against the rocks, its head mashed to pieces.

"What the hell happened here?" Ashley asked.

"Looks like something big," Nihlus said.

Shepard knelt to the ground curiously running her fingers over the markings left by whatever stampeded through the camp. Whatever it was walked with huge metallic boots, but as it got further and further to the end of the camp the foot prints turned into huge tire marks, the kind used by vehicles that carried heavy loads. Nihlus noticed movement near one of the huts and aimed his rifle.

"Come out slowly," he said.

Shepard and her squad turned to the huts, but relaxed as a man and woman stepped out. They were scientists judging from their uniforms. The woman seemed understandably nervous; the man seemed creepily bright for some reason.

"Thank god, we thought you were Geth," the woman said.

"No need to whisper, things will be better now," the man said.

"Hush Manwell!"

"Were you two with the research team?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, we found the beacon a few days ago, we were conducting some tests when the Geth arrived. Manwell and I managed to hide in one of the huts, but our other colleagues were," the woman held her mouth in disgust, "They were stripped and then impaled on those spikes, a few minutes later they were turned into those things…I couldn't watch!"

"What did you see?" Nihlus asked the man.

"A fellow Turian, a servant of the enemy!"

"What?" Nihlus widened his eyes slightly.

"The end of humanity is upon us, the age of the organic is over."

"What's wrong with him?" Shepard asked.

"Manwell is a good scientist, but brilliance and madness are often two sides of the same coin," the woman sighed.

"Is it madness to see the future, to know that the end is coming, that no matter what we do our world will end?"

"What did all of this?" Kaidan asked, gesturing to the destruction around him.

"You wont believe us if we tell you, god I'm beginning to think I'm mad too…it was a giant of some kind, as big as a Mako, a robot perhaps or a mech, whatever it was it jumped down from the rocks and decimated the Geth forces and then it changed," the woman explained.

"It transformed, folded around, clickity click, click, sheeshashaha!" Manwell made strange movements with his hands, as if simulating the effect.

"It transformed into some kind of truck and then drove away!"

Ashley and Kaidan looked at one another, both sceptical to the truth in the story. Nihlus and Shepard however analysed the woman's expression, she could hardly believe what she had seen, but she had seen it. She was telling the truth, and that made the two elite operatives uneasy.

"Something obviously left those tracks, where do they lead Ashley?" Shepard asked.

"The tram to the space port, that might be where they moved the beacon to," Ashley said.

Shepard nodded her head and gestured for the squad to follow her.

"You two remain here, wait for an alliance team," she said.

* * *

Orion continued driving through the hallway of rocks, swerving with every corner and jumping over bigger rocks in the road that would have damaged his wheels. He transformed when he reached the clearing and overlooked the spaceport tram station. Dragon's teeth were set on the path towards the tram, piled on top of them were bodies, humans converted to techorganic zombies. Orion was astonished when he analysed the composition of the husk creatures. Their DNA had been stripped away, anything that had made the organics unique had been replaced with coding and terabytes of software that formed only one principal emotion, hatred, hatred of organics. The husks were specifically designed to kill organics on sight. But Orion forgot the husks and looked up at the astonishingly grand ship looming over the space port.

"Primus," he muttered, taken aback by not just the scale and design, but the will of the monster.

He could feel its hatred for all living things. With every inhuman screech the ship went out Orion felt his spark shrink. Even the matrix, a relic of immense importance to his people seemed insignificant in comparison to the creature. Orion widened his optics as the orbs on the surface of the ship glowed. He knew eyes when he saw them, and he knew when he was being watched. Orion drew his attention to the port and narrowed his optics at the figure standing, looking at him with only mild interest, as if he was no threat at all. But the man was just a simple Turian male, though his facial markings were very different from images of most Turians Orion had analysed. He wore silver armour and had a black cybernetic arm that greatly resembled the Geth's three fingered hands.

'He's no refugee,' Orion thought.

The ship's tentacles suddenly straightened and energy shot out of them. Orion immediately dived out of the beams path. The shockwave threw him sideways, while the beam itself cut through the landscape.

"Orion are you all right?" Jazz asked.

"Yes Jazz, stay focused on civilians, do not attempt to engage that ship," Orion crawled onto his feet and looked up at the sky.

The ship was beginning its flight into the orbit, caring not for whatever defence forces still remained, as if it was close to achieving its objective and had reason to relax. Orion looked to the port and noticed that the Turian was gone. He noted the Turian's presence for the future contact he would have with the Citadel species. Walking down the path, Orion noticed the presence of survivors inside the nearby hut. He ignored them, his priority had to be investigating that shady Turian and discovering why that creature was so interested in the spaceport.

"Boss bot!" Orion heard over his radio.

"What is it Blaster?" he asked.

"On a hunch I launched a drone to do a scan of the area, I picked up Cybertronian tech in the space port," the communications officer explained.

Orion stopped walking, the news had left him in shock.

"The position of Bumblebee and the others…"

"Bumblebee's away from Ironhide and Cliff Jumper but he isn't anywhere near the space port, and what I found is specifically a spark signature, no armour or weapons detected just a bare protoform, but the Energon signature was unlike anything I've ever seen, it has too much power to actually be a protoform but all of the readings are right," Blaster explained.

"I need to get to the space port, and find some answers," Orion growled.

"Understood sir, I'll keep you updated if I find out anything else," Blaster said.

Orion walked until he reached the tram terminal. He jumped onto the tracks, changing into his truck mode. The drive would be short at his top speed and he intended to find out just what was going on at the colony.

* * *

Shepard and her team looked at the trail of devastation that had been formed by the red beam. The Geth ship clearly had a hatred for their new friend, if the science team's statement at the destruction was anything to go on. She heard Ashley mutter a silent prayer behind her, looking in horror at the people impaled on the dragon's teeth. It was understandable; some of the husks were probably old friends. But as the spikes began to slide down, activating the husks on them Ashley stood her ground. She took the sniper rifle off her back and took aim at the farthest husk. Hatred influenced her aim, causing her first shot to miss. Kaidan fired his pistol at the nearest husk, bringing it down before it could reach Ashley. Her second shot bought the next husk down and she quickly drew her shotgun blowing a third husk back. Shepard looked to Nihlus, who was already moving to flank the husks. He emerged from the rocks, splitting the heads of the husks open with his shotgun.

"Good job team, secure the area, check your targets," Shepard shot two downed husks with her pistol, once in the chest and again in the head for good measure.

"Survivors Shepard," Nihlus pointed to the hut on their right.

The hut doors opened and a trio of dockworkers walked out with their arms raised.

"Easy, we're coming out, we're not armed," the leader said.

Nihlus remained still, observing Shepard as she interrogated the survivors on the attack and on the presence of the 'transformer'. He noted her professional demeanour and how whilst questioning them on their small time smuggling ring, she remained on the priority of the beacon. Missions of the Spectre's calibre were all about prioritisation. But Nihlus still couldn't shake away his concern over a Turian being on Eden Prime, and so close to where that huge ship had been. When they met Powell, the leader of the small scale smuggling ring, not even his disgust over the man's laziness and interference in the supply lines of the marines could wipe away his concern. Nihlus liked to think that being on the field gave him a perspective the council didn't have.

"You son of a bitch, we're out here trying to protect your sorry ass and alls you can think about is how to rip us off," Ashley's anger with Powell was understandable, but it was enough to put Nihlus's attention back on the present.

"Turn over the grenades, now!" Shepard snarled.

"Here take them, my smuggling days are over," Powell said hastily.

"A lot of people died here, a lot of people who could have used these grenades Powell, tell us what you saw and I'll consider not reporting you to the authorities," Shepard said.

"Okay, well I was behind the crates catching forty winks, as I usually do between deliveries and then all of a sudden that ship comes down from the skies, Geth drop onto the ground and start killing everyone. Oh god, it was horrible, the Geth put survivors onto those spikes, a few seconds later a Turian comes by, looking around and then he starts talking to someone over the radio," Powell explained.

"What did he say?" Nihlus asked.

"He said he would meet 'Megatronus' by the beacon, and then that ship unleashes this giant beam and roars as if it was mad about something, the Turian left and then a few seconds afterwards this giant, red and blue robot walks by. My god I thought I was hallucinating for a moment!"

"It seems a lot of people gave been hallucinating," Ashley muttered.

"Can't wait to see this robot for myself," Shepard said.

"Then lets get to the space port and secure the beacon," Nihlus said.

"Careful Nihlus, that sounded a lot like an order!"

"Old habits Shepard, you lead the way," Nihlus flashed the Turian equivalent of a smile as Shepard took point.

Shepard walked to the tram station, where a regiment of Geth Primes had already been decimated by whatever rolled through there. The tram itself was intact however. She stepped onto the tram with her teammates and pulled on the lever. It would take them to the spaceport, where hopefully the beacon would be waiting. Shepard however, knowing that there the journey would take time, contacted the Normandy.

"Captain Anderson, what's the status of the Geth forces?" she asked.

"They are beginning to pull out Shepard, we've also picked up communiqué from around the colony, all of the wounded are being gathered at medical facilities across Eden Prime, they're all talking about how transformers saved them," Anderson explained.

"Then you'll never guess what we've been hearing from the survivors we run into," Shepard said.

"It seems unbelievable Shepard, but Navigator Pressly managed to get visual confirmation of these beings, a red one with horns on his head actually waved at the Normandy!"

"Could they be an offshoot of the Geth, or maybe there are actually mechs with pilots," Kaidan suggested.

"If any of the factions developed mech technology like that we would have heard about it," Nihlus said.

"Well our transformer was heading this way, lets see whether he's secured the beacon for us," Shepard grinned.

* * *

Across the colony, the members of the Autobot team began making their reports. Jazz looked at his monitor, seeing the Geth ships exiting the orbit. Ironhide shot down a squad of Geth drones and put his hand to his ear.

"All enemies confirmed wrecked boss bot," he said.

Bumblebee drove into the hospital again, transforming and placing a wounded girl on the pavement.

"Quit gawking and help this girl, she's wounded," he growled at the nearby doctors.

The scout looked up to see the G1 hovering over the area. The main hatch opened and Ratchet emerged in his ambulance form. He stopped at the main entrance, opening his back door as two paramedics came to his aid.

"This man's legs were crushed by rubble, I cauterised the wounds but he still needs antibiotics. I have approximately thirty-two major injured onboard my ship, my Minicons will assist you in transferring them to medical quarters," Ratchet explained.

"Oh my god," one of the paramedics gasped.

"Calm down Shia we've seen worse things today, listen, we'd love to take everyone in but we're getting too many patients and not enough volunteers. Take some of our patients that don't have life threatening wounds, there are medical facilities on the Citadel that'll be able to better help them," the other, more levelheaded medic explained.

"I can leave some of the Minicons with you," Ratchet said.

"Thanks, but I think our patients have seen enough machines for one day, thank you for the help, a lot of these people would have died if not for you coming here."

"Like we said, we're here to help," Bumblebee said.

Ratchet transformed to robot mode, astonishing the two medics, and causing the nervous one to fall onto his back in shock.

"All wounded are accounted for, the minicons will be transferring more patients onto the ship Jazz, Arcee get off the gunnery station and assist with the transfer," Ratchet ordered.

"This is Cliff Jumper, just gave the last bit of resistance a taste of the horns, the city district is secure!"

"Geth communications are still lingering at the space port, no reported incidents across the colony, looks like we got everyone guys," Blaster said.

"How are things on your end boss bot?" Jazz asked.

"I'm at the space port, the Geth have planted explosives on the foundations," Orion said.

"By Primus," Ratchet gasped.

Orion took several missiles to his back. But he remained focused on the explosive in front of him. Bullets scraped against his armour but he remained adamant in his mission, tearing out parts of the bomb. It wasn't the most graceful or intelligent of disarmaments but it got the job done. He turned to the tramway and saw four organics exit the tram. The Geth immediately noted their presence, and the organics looked up at Orion. He jumped from the platform, taking a missile fired by the Geth at the organics.

"Orion are you okay?" Ratchet asked.

"Get onto the ship and get out of here, those charges were planted to destroy the colony so that no one would know about the Geth attack," Orion explained.

"Demolition charges, the Geth must have planted them," the male human stated as the two females aimed their weapons at Orion.

"Stop I am not your enemy," Orion said as he pulled out his path blaster.

The organics tensed, preparing for an imminent attack. But the blast from the cannon flew past them and slammed into the Geth snipers and rocket troopers. Orion then climbed onto the left platform and rushed towards the demolition charge. He slid to a halt, taking hits to his shoulder. Ripping off the panel, Orion tore out the explosives and the wires, again an ungraceful disarming technique. The organics had to move with more concern; the human male disarmed the demolition charge with greater ease, leaving the charge itself intact.

"It spoke our language," Shepard said.

"And it seems to be disposing of the charges without concern for its safety," Nihlus said.

"We're going to help it out and find out what it knows afterwards," Shepard took aim with her rifle and gunned down two Geth troopers. "Alenko, can you disarm the other charges?"

"I'll need covering fire commander," Kaidan said.

"Then you've got it," Shepard said as she, Ashley and Nihlus moved up the bridge.

Kaidan biotically launched himself onto the platform, shooting two Geth that approached him. He activated his biotic barrier and run down the platform. His gunners bought down one Geth after another, giving him the cover he needed. Kaidan slid past a Geth prime, just as Orion landed on the platform.

"Prime huh? Not much of a Prime to me!" Orion growled as he picked the Geth up and slammed it into the floor.

Kaidan opened the panel of the bomb and began cutting wires with his Omni tool. He widened his eyes slightly as several husks ran towards him. Orion however kicked the husks, flattening them against the wall. Kaidan cut the final wire on the bomb and picked up his pistol, he shot two troopers and pointed his pistol at Orion. But the transformer ran, breaking through the railings in front of him and jumping onto the platform overlooking the ruined landscape.

"Shepard, I found the beacon," Kaidan called to his commander.

Shepard, Ashley and Nihlus ran quickly to Kaidan's side. They looked to see Orion staring at the beacon.

"A Prothean beacon, this society really did move forward on their technology," Orion muttered.

Wires stretched from his fingers, linking with the beacon. Orion widened his eyes as images flashed before his optics. The information was corrupt but it painted a brutal picture, a planet burning, and organics dying at the hands of synthetic husks. A creature of both organic flesh and mechanical circuitry opened its mouth, releasing an inhuman yell. It was then that Orion realised he had also been screaming, and that the damaged nature of the beacon's information had caused some of his limbs to shut down temporarily. He rolled onto his front, looking to his side to see the four organics aiming their small weapons at him.

"What did you do to the beacon?" the apparent leader demanded.

"Do not go near that beacon, the information is damaged," Orion said.

"What do you mean?" the second female asked.

"Listen to me now," Orion snarled as he rose to his knees, placing his hand on the left side of the humans, bringing his face forward so that his eyes would match the leaders.

To her credit the woman didn't back down, she showed true courage in the face of an overwhelmingly advanced enemy.

"My name is Orion Pax, I and the members of my crew are Autonomous Robotic Organisms from the planet Cybertron, I have in my possession the information from that beacon and will be willing to turn it over and allow myself to be taken prisoner if my crew are given safe passage into the Citadel," the Autobot captain explained.

"This really is a first contact situation?" the woman asked.

"_Bah-weep-graaagnah wheep nini bong!"_

"Careful boss, people's reaction to the universal greeting varies, let's hope they decide to have throw us a party like the Junkions did," Blaster muttered.

_"Bah-weep-graaagnah wheep nini bong,"_ Orion repeated as he touched the side of his head.

Shepard and her crew widened their eyes in terror as Orion's advanced holographic display warped the scenery around them. They saw what the beacon contained, images of unknown beings dying, cities and planets burning as bio synthetic creatures like the husks screamed.

"By the spirits," Nihlus muttered.

"This, this could be fabricated," Shepard said.

"I have no evidence to disprove that," Orion said.

"Then why should I trust you?"

"An act of faith, I am wilfully surrendering myself, but if it pleases you take the beacon and see for yourself!"

Shepard focused her attention on the beacon and sighed.

"Normandy, the beacon is secure, we have a prisoner for pick up, make sure there is space in the cargo hold and get some heavy weapons out," she explained.

"Orion are you sure about this?" Ratchet asked over the radio.

"We already have some of their people, its only fair that they take one of us as well," Orion said.

"Roger that commander…hold on there's an unknown aircraft heading towards your position, from the south," Joker said.

Shepard turned away from the beacon and looked towards the sky.

"Is that one of yours?" she asked Orion.

Orion turned and narrowed his optics at the aircraft approaching. He gasped in horror as the figure transformed, revealing it's bare, primitive but otherworldly design, even by the standards of Cybertronians. Its head was narrow and stretched upwards and downwards; fins were set out across either side of the head. The figure had black armour with blue and silver fins and vents across it, its eyes glowed a menacing red colour.

"I can't be," Orion gasped. "GET AWAY FROM THE BEACON!" he yelled.

He lightly pushed Ashley, Kaidan and Nihlus aside and rolled, grabbing Shepard and jumping away from the beacon. The dark figure landed at the beacon, slamming his lance into the ground and grabbing the Prothean tech. Orion rolled onto his back, with Shepard on his chest. The two watched as the creature crushed the Prothean beacon, releasing sparks of green energy across the floor.

"I'm guessing he's not as friendly as you," Shepard said.

"Far from it, your world is in great danger, we're all in great danger," Orion placed Shepard on the ground and pulled his axe off of his back.

He stood his ground, but his spark quivered in fear. The figure stood before him, twirling his legendary lance was a relic of Cybertron's past. One of the first thirteen Primes, banished from the order by his brothers and believed to have decayed eons ago. Megatron's namesake, Megatronnus or as every Cybertronian from both the Autobots and Decepticons referred to him as the Fallen.

Next Chapter 4: Megatron

* * *

Next time Orion engages the Fallen, in a battle that costs the Normandy crew, meanwhile Jetfire tries to convince the approaching forces of the Autobot general Longarm Prime to defect, Megatron however, gunning for the Prime launches a furious attack with the Stunticon and Combaticon teams.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers or Mass Effect

In this chapter, I introduce an element of mystery to the story, also if you're a fan of Bulkhead...well I did warn you

* * *

Transform Effect 1: Rise a Prime

Chapter 4: Megatron

Megatronnus, the namesake of Megatron and the person in Cybertronian history that its people most compared the Decepticon leader to. For in the golden days of Cybertron he was the finest warrior and led Cybertron into an age where all Cybertronians were born and raised into their intended purpose. But Megatronnus wanted the caste system to be absolute, for Cybertronians to be robbed of their individuality, for the Primes to remain the sole beings with emotion on Cybertron. He led a small movement that ultimately failed and his name from them on was the Fallen one. Though Orion liked to think of him as the first of many fallen Cybertronian leaders. Even though there was still peace, the independence and freedom of the people was always under threat and it became more apparent as time went by. The Cybertronian leaders saw no room to improve themselves, to expand beyond the stars or to alter their societal structure. As a result many Cybertronians died in the Energon mines, as a result of the council's lack of concern. Orion saw the possibility of corruption and when the Protheans arrived and Megatron began his movement, Orion joined to help his home world and restore justice to Cybertron, for in his eyes the old ways of the council had become unnecessary. He became inspired by the words of another resident of Kaon, a gladiator whom rose up in violent rebellion and declared that self determination was the right of all sentient beings, words that inspired many from the downtrodden community of Kaon, including Megatron himself to become more than what they were. Orion went from a dockworker to a clerk at the capital's hall of records, and then when his people needed him he became a soldier.

In many ways Orion saw the Fallen as the representation of everything wrong with the old system. But he didn't see Megatron as the perfect idol he once did, in fact the two Megatron's were greatly alike. Looking into the eyes of the Fallen Orion saw the anger and hatred he saw from Megatron when he drove away the Protheans. The Fallen however, his hatred was for all living things, just like that strange ship. Orion cast his optics to the organics around him as the Fallen did. He narrowed his optics at the Fallen and took a step forward, banging his foot deliberately to attract the monster's attention. The Fallen narrowed his own optics at Orion and raised his spear.

"GET CLEAR!" Orion yelled at his charges, swinging his axe wildly at the Fallen.

Shepard and her team ducked for cover as the two giants collided. Orion and the Fallen rolled off of the platform, across the ruined plains that it overlooked. The Fallen raised his spear, thrusting it at the Autobot leader. Orion dodged one strike after another, preparing to counterattack.

_He grabbed his enemy's head and savagely slammed him into the ground. But he didn't stop there, the roar of the crowd demanded more. Lifting his axe over his head he swung down, splitting the bot's head open. Blood leaked across the floor, along with sparks from the fallen warrior's head. The victor however, despite the praise the crowd gave him lowered his head; there was no honour in his victory._

Orion shook his head, he felt as if he had gone to someplace else. He didn't even have time to wonder what had happened to his perceptions as the Fallen threw his arm forward. Blue energy flowed from the Fallen's armour and the energy formed an overwhelming force that threw Orion and even chunks of the ground backwards. Orion rolled across the floor, shaking the dirt out of his optics before looking towards the Fallen.

"Keep your optics focused sparkling," the bot cackled.

He was every bit the psychopath the historical records indicated. But his power was beyond the predictions of even Sentinel Prime.

"Shepard, that robot, it just used biotics," Kaidan said, looking down at the Fallen.

"Don't get too close Kaidan, we'd only get in the way in this fight, Normandy how far are you from our position?" Shepard asked.

"Two minutes Shepard, making our approach run now," Joker said.

"Be careful Joker," Shepard said.

The Fallen looked to the clouds as the Normandy began a descent approach.

"Oh my god, what is that?" Pressly asked.

"Can't be friendly," Joker muttered.

The Fallen raised his hand, lifting chunks of rock from the ground. He threw the rocks forward like biotic missiles. Joker reacted just in time, impressing the Fallen with his reaction time. The Normandy weaved between the missiles and swooped over the Fallen. Orion threw his axe at the Fallen, narrowly missing his head.

"Round two you piece of SLAG!" Orion roared as he ran at the Fallen.

The Fallen twirled his spear around, letting out a laugh that echoed through Orion's processors. Rebel Autobot and former Prime both clashed, launching one another into the air.

* * *

Megatron stood on the bridge of the G2, looking over the work being carried out by the Constructicons to repair the mass relay. His second eye in Shockwave however watched Rodimus closely. The Decepticon science officer didn't trust the Autobot traitor or his cabal.

"The Constructicons, how dare you Soundwave, I demand to take the Combaticons," Megatron grit his teeth together, an annoying sound had filled his processors, like nails against a chalkboard.

Starscream glared at Soundwave in a way he never would have glared at Sixshot or Megatron. Megatron was giving the seeker commander token forces, troops he had no real like for, a fitting command for Starscream. He had tried numerous times to convince or cajole the intelligence officer into transferring more elite troops to his command.

"**You can not threaten, nor can you intimidate, Starscream inferior, Soundwave superior!"**

"Did you seriously talk in the third-person, what is your glitch you goalless piece of slag," Starscream growled.

"The fact that he has no goals other than Megatron's will is what makes him a more valuable soldier Starscream," Sixshot said as he walked towards the two bots.

Starscream's expression noticeably changed as he stepped back slightly. He narrowed his eyes at Sixshot and glared, but that was all he would ever do to defy the six changer.

"You will use the forces we give you, a bot whom abandoned his soldiers to watch has no right to complain," Sixshot said.

"To the pit with you Sixshot," Starscream snarled before he walked away.

The seeker commander passed a former soldier under his command. Jetfire exchanged glares with his former commander before shoulder barging him.

"Jetfire, I would say its good to see you again, but considering the circumstances," Sixshot sighed.

No matter how hard he tried Jetfire couldn't bring himself to hate Sixshot. The warrior served Megatron, but he did so with honour, with no hatred in his spark. Jetfire walked up behind Megatron and looked over the bridge crew. They had all converted their armour into the purple colours of the Decepticons. Even the symbols on their chests had changed, to the rageful mask of the one whom had inspired the Decepticon rebellion, not Megatron but another resident of Kaon.

"The Autobot colours suit you Jetfire," Megatron said, without turning to face the aerial bot.

"Is that a compliment?" he asked.

"What do you know of Orion Pax?" the Decepticon leader asked.

"He was a record clerk at Iacon, led a defence when the Protheans attacked," Jetfire said.

"Is that really all there is to him?" Megatron asked.

"There's always more to bots, even Starscream…well I suppose that pushes it!"

Megatron chuckled at Jetfire's joke. He turned his head, looking Jetfire in the eyes.

"How many of your brothers have you killed since you betrayed us the first time?" he asked.

"I've killed more Autobots than Decepticons," Jetfire said.

"**Incoming transmission, diverting to main screen," **Soundwave pushed the buttons on his chest, diverting the communiqué to the holographic projector in front of Megatron.

Megatron's eyes narrowed in fury as he looked upon the holographic figure that appeared in from of him. His arms were elongated, with tank tracks around them like armour, pipes on his back connected to a mask on his mouth whilst a third red eye twitched on his forehead. The Autobot insignia glowed on the chest of his grey armour.

"Longarm Major," Megatron snarled, identifying the Autobot general.

"Its Longarm Prime now you slagging scrap heaper," Longarm spoke with that air of arrogance and superiority not even Starscream would use in front of Megatron.

"I see in their final moments the council sought to make one more Prime," Megatron huffed.

"Its takes more than brute might to be named a Prime Megatron, my cunning and intellect made me comparable to Sentinel, after all it was my plans that bought an end to that pathetic rebellion that inspired you and many others of the lower castes to rise up," Longarm explained.

"In opposition of the corrupt caste system the council of elders had enforced on the planet for centuries," Sixshot said.

"Ah Sixshot, still content wasting your strength on the side of savages I see, and Jetfire, I knew your defection wouldn't last, I told Magnus to put you offline long ago. Cup sent a message across the stars; Orion Pax now bears the matrix, what kind of joke is this, where is Rodimus?" the Prime asked.

"He is preparing for an operation that could serve as the first step towards rebuilding Cybertron, who is Orion Pax to you?" Megatron asked.

"He…he is but a lowly records clerk," Longarm hesitated silently.

"Is that so? A records clerk whom inspired the masses to fight back against the Protheans and defend Iacon, yet was humble enough to give the glory to Rodimus Prime, how the all spark must have blessed him with such strength and wisdom, Rodimus said as much," Megatron explained.

"I demand your surrender Megatron," Longarm said.

"HA! Spare me the bad comedy; you don't have nearly enough warriors to overcome my forces, for the sake of your men surrender and face judgement for your crimes against Cybertron," Megatron declared.

Longarm rolled his head back and laughed, almost hysterically to the point where his men looked at him, wondering if he truly believed he could win.

"I am the one with authority here Megatron, the last of the Primes," he declared.

"No, you are a traitor to our people, the deaths of ten thousand sparklings is as much on your hands as it is on the Protheans," Megatron growled.

"How dare you, you piece of slag," Longarm slammed his hand into the rest of his chair.

"You do not recall, the massacre of D-17, the chamber that housed the incubation units of protoforms that had yet to see outside of those walls? How you ignored repeated requests, no, how you simply gave up on our young? What was it you told me Longarm when I begged for reinforcements?"

"_Just give up!"_

_Megatron looked at the holographic projection of Longarm in horror. By Primus the bot was actually smiling, he had always hated Megatron and his followers, whom only wished to improve Cybertron. D-17 was a district-sized facility dedicated to the formation of new sparks and Protoforms, the growth and care of Cybertron's young. Small metallic children floated inside incubation chambers, being provided all the Energon they needed as the central systems they needed to survive were formed. Megatron stepped away from the holographic screen as Longarm's image disappeared. The hopelessness of his situation began to sink in. Prothean drop ships were approaching, they had a significant advantage because they had been given the opportunity to strike first. When initial sightings of the Prothean armada was confirmed, the council refused against Megatron and Ultra Magnus's warnings to prepare the army. They foolishly believed that a show of the planet's military might would only encourage the Protheans to attack. But the Prothean's hatred of anything that wasn't organic had become apparent from their first wave._

"_Megatron, what did the general say?" a nearby femmebot asked, cradling a protoform fresh from his incubation chamber._

_Megatron turned to the female, a silver bot with no armour for battle._

"_Ariel, take the child and go, this facility will be under attack soon," Megatron said._

"_The Protheans wouldn't dare attack a place for our young, would they?" Ariel asked._

"_They are a savage race, primitives with no idea what life truly is, in their eyes we are just machines," Megatron picked his sword up from the ground and looked at the weapon and then at the child Ariel held. "Go, take as many of the young as you can!"_

"_But what about you?"_

"_Megatron, Prothean fighters are on their way," a blue armoured robot with a metallic face said._

_Megatron turned to his future communications officer Soundwave and nodded his head._

"_Soundwave, oversee the evacuation of the young able to walk, force them to transform if you must, I will buy you as much time as I can," Megatron said as he jumped._

_He folded in midair, turning into his jet mode and dashing through the corridors of the facility. Megatron flew around the skyscraper-sized trees, the incubation chambers for thousands of young Cybertronians waiting to see their world burn. Upon reaching the outside of the facility, Megatron snarled in fury. Prothean tanks were gathering around D-17, ready to bombard it into dust. Fighters circled around Megatron, targeting him for deactivation. His focus however was on Longarm's ship the A1. It had been closer to D-17 but was instead flying towards Iacon, a place that had already been adequately protected. Longarm was abandoning the sparklings just to spite Megatron._

"_COME ON YOU MEATBAGS! I'M WHAT YOU SHOULD FEAR!" Megatron yelled, swooping down on the Prothean tanks and blowing them to bits with his nose mounted lasers._

_He transformed in midair, cutting two Prothean fighters apart before landing on an artillery unit, driving the blade into the cockpit. Then he dragged the blade across the floor, cutting apart Prothean infantry and flicking others away like insects. He kicked and flailed with his arms, squashing and throwing away the Protheans. Prothean tanks converged on Megatron, firing blasts into his back. He ran for cover and picked up the scrap maker shotgun of a nearby fallen trooper. Running from cover he fired shot after shot from the gun, ripping open tanks and decimating infantry troops. Transforming to jet mode again he flew into the air, destroying a squadron of bombers._

"_Is that all you can muSTAGH!" Megatron yelled as a particle beam struck his back._

_The beam disrupted his T-Cog, causing him to change back into robot form. He slammed into the ground, sliding across it and leaving a trail behind him. Megatron spat debris from his mouth and rose, drawing his sword to deflect more particle beams._

"_Megatron," a voice said weakly over the radio._

"_Ariel, are you all right?" Megatron asked, his eyes wide in concern._

"_They…they were inside…Protheans, slipped through the scanners…I've been hit…oil everywhere," Ariel's voice drifted as she limped through the halls of the facility._

_She rested on a wall, clutching her chest. Her spark chamber was exposed and the spark itself flickered._

"_Oh Primus, they destroyed him Megatronnus, they killed my child," Ariel whispered._

_Megatron's face fell, he didn't even move to cover as Prothean fighters swooped over him. The explosions from the missiles threw him back, ripping a chunk off of his shoulder._

"_Ariel, Soundwave, report," he ordered._

"_I'm on my way to Ariel positions, by Primus those monsters are putting charges on the trees, if even one goes off then the domino effect will topple all of the incubation chambers," Soundwave explained._

"_They're truly monsters Megatron, every last one of them, extremist, savage, primitive MONSTERS!" Ariel screamed._

_Megatron heard gunfire over the radio. Ariel must have picked up a weapon, distraught over the loss of her child._

"_TILL ALL ARE ONE!"_

"_FOR THE EMPIRE!"_

_Those two words preceded the explosion and Megatron watched in horror as the spark chambers began to topple. Like lumberjacks the Protheans cut the base of the chambers with explosive. Their mission was a suicide mission, purely to destroy the chambers that produced and care for the future generations of Cybertron._

"_NO!" Megatron yelled, flying into the heart of the falling debris._

_Everything became a blur to his sensors as he lost himself in the destruction. He took a few hits to his armour and fell to the ground, with several pieces of debris falling on top of him. Minutes after the destruction passed, Megatron burst from the rubble, looking at his surroundings with the desperate hope that someone survived. Instead he only found death. Protoforms had been scattered across the ground, one with the rubble, lifeless, it was like that no matter how far Megatron walked. However he came upon one single Protoform, a Cybertronian child clinging to life as her spark flickered._

"_Megatron," he heard from behind him._

_He ignored Soundwave and moved towards the sparkling. Soundwave slowly pushed the rubble off of him and looked at the destruction in shock._

"_Primus…Ariel was right," Soundwave said as he scanned the area, finding no trace of life save for Megatron, the failing protoform and one survivor crawling out of the rubble._

_The Prothean soldier crawled across the floor, his green blood leaking from his severed right leg. He looked up at Megatron as he held the Cybertronian child._

"_I can't help you, I'm sorry," the future lord of the Decepticons did something he would never do again, something the Protheans never thought they could do._

_He held the bot tight and cried, tears fell down to the ground._

"_No Cybertronians detected…no Cybertronians detected," Soundwave repeated until his voice turned hollow. __**"Prothean life signs detected!"**_

_The Prothean looked at Megatron as his eyes focused on him._

"_Regardless of whether you mourn or not, your world will burn machine," the soldier declared._

_Megatron dropped the lifeless body to the floor and grit his teeth together. His eyes glowed red, his concern over Soundwave's loss of emotions was gone, his sorrow was gone, even his desire to find Ariel was gone. He only had hatred left as he picked up the Prothean and bought him towards his face._

"_Machine? Machine? You think we are mere machines? We live and are born into this world with no knowledge, we gain that knowledge over a life of struggle, triumph, we love, we mourn…it is beyond the mind of a machine to hate, it is beyond the mind of a machine to enjoy killing those whom have wronged them…we are beyond machines," Megatron growled._

_The Prothean finally quivered in fear as Megatron opened his mouth._

"_I am beyond machines, because I do hate your kind and I WILL ENJOY KILLING EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!" Megatron roared._

_The Prothean screamed before Megatron bit his head clean off. He spat the creatures head onto the floor and obliterated its body with a simple squeeze. He no longer saw the Protheans as a sentient species, their single minded dedication to their empire made them machines, no animals in his eyes. So he buried himself in hatred, for the Protheans that massacred his children and the old guard of Cybertron that let it happen._

"Our children died so you could become a Prime Longarm, the only reason the council deemed you worthy was because you saved their lives and what did they do for the war effort afterwards? It was Sentinel whom saved our people with the Arc, it was Ultra Magnus whom protected our borders, it was I who drove the savages away, towards the Armageddon beyond the relay whilst you stood on the sidelines protecting the weak council, and failing at it too, YOU DON'T DESERVE TO DECIDE CYBERTRON'S FUTURE!" Megatron yelled.

"You will fail Megatron, with Rodimus a traitor and Sentinel disappeared sole authority of the Autobots goes to me, I will have Ultra Magnus's fleet and Fortress converge on your forces and wipe you out," Longarm explained.

"My forces outmatch yours in terms of numbers and sheer power, surrender now and I will spare your crew," Megatron said.

"Longarm, please consider Megatron's offer, the A1 will not last under a direct assault," Jetfire said.

"Ha, a defector has no right to order me around, you will all fall," Longarm huffed before he cut communications.

"Soundwave, prepare the Combaticons and Stunticons," Megatron wasted no time in ordering a counter attack.

Jetfire looked at the bots Megatron was putting together. He narrowed his eyes at the spec ops teams. They were infamous not just for their effectiveness in battle, but their brutality. Onslaught of the Combaticons was an astounding tactician and Motormaster of the Stunticons was completely without mercy.

'This is going to be a massacre,' Jetfire thought. "Unless I do something about it," he squeezed his hand into a fist before running to the hanger bay.

* * *

Shepard and her team looked at the battling giants, rolling across the landscape of Eden Prime. The Fallen continuously thrust his spear at Orion, scraping his armour. Orion replied with a vicious right hook. He attempted a wild haymaker, only for the Fallen to bash his mouth plate with the handle of his spear. Orion then crossed his arms together, blocking the old Prime's lance. With a shove Orion pushed the Fallen through a space shuttle. The Fallen cut the aircraft apart, then picked up a Kodiak and threw it at Orion. He dived to the side, drawing his path blaster. More dark energy surged from the Fallen's hand, lifting Orion off of the ground.

"By Primus," he gasped before he was thrown into the hillside.

"Impressive warrior, perhaps you could've beaten me back in my days as a Prime, I admit I was weak then, I shared the weakness of those Primes," the Fallen explained.

"They were your brothers, you betrayed them," Orion growled.

"THEY WERE NO BROTHERS OF MINE! We had true power, power enough to rule over the younger species as gods, to create a true empire, you think Cybertron before the Protheans corrupted its core was powerful…the old Cybertron, my Cybertron was the realm of the gods!"

"You have been in exile for millions of years Fallen one, how did you know about the Prothean invasion?" Orion asked.

"I have seen, no experienced their demise, just as you have," the Fallen grinned as Orion narrowed his eyes.

The Fallen laughed, rolling his head back as Orion gripped the side of his head.

"I see, a little too much information in your memory banks?" he asked.

"Enough, you've destroyed the beacon what more do you want?"

"Power, absolute rule and death to all those whom refuse to kneel, SO KNEEL!" purple energy suddenly flew from the Fallen's hands, coiling around Orion like tentacles.

Shepard widened her eyes as the machine screamed in agony. Pain should not have been possible for it, yet still Orion scream. That's when Shepard realised that the existence of the 'transformers' changed everything everyone thought they knew about the evolution of machines. Shepard had no idea what exactly the transformers were, but she knew there was more to them than met the eyes. She removed her sniper rifle from her back and took aim at the Fallen's glowing red eyes.

"Shepard, what are you doing?" Nihlus asked.

"Lending a hand, Orion has the beacon data, I think its time we gave him the answer to his offer, Nihlus take cover behind the crates, Kaidan go up to that railing and see what you can do with that fuel tank and Ashley, get into cross fire position with the grenades, time to put them to use," Shepard explained.

"Commander I don't think…"

"Shepard gave you an order Alenko, get into position," Nihlus said.

Kaidan hesitantly nodded his head; Ashley was just as hesitant and didn't move to position as fast as Shepard hoped.

"Are you willing to gamble on this Shepard?" Nihlus asked over the radio.

"Yes I am, without regrets," Shepard said.

"That's why I picked you," Nihlus smirked.

Shepard walked to the edge of the railing and steadied her aim. The Fallen laughed as Orion fought to keep his knees off of the ground. He was powerful, but overconfident, to Shepard his fancy light shows and biotics meant nothing if she had him in her sights.

"Bulls eye asshole," she grinned.

She pulled the trigger, sending armour piercing round flying into the Fallen's right eye. The orb shattered and the Fallen clutched the side of his face in pain. Snarling like an animal he turned, looking up at the platform Shepard stood on. She immediately began falling back as the Fallen jumped into the sky. Orion stumbled forward and looked up at the platform. He watched as the Fallen swung his lance at the ground. Shepard dived to the side, narrowly dodging the lance and firing her pistol at the Fallen's face. An explosive suddenly collided with his shoulder. Ashley threw grenades from her pack, drawing the Fallen's attention away from Shepard. As Ashley and Nihlus shot at the Fallen, Kaidan began pulling at the nearby fuel tank with his biotics. He surrounded the tank with a field of blue energy, levitating it off of the ground. Orion meanwhile ran towards the wall and dug his fingers in, climbing towards the upper levels of the spaceport.

"Little insects, you should be worshipping me," the Fallen snarled.

"I'm an Atheist," Shepard retorted.

"Cocky fleshling," the Fallen raised his spear.

Suddenly, the fuel tank slammed into his back, throwing him into the wall.

"Nice hit Lieutenant, that should buy some time for the big guy to show up," Shepard said.

"What makes you think the big guy is on our side?" Ashley asked.

"Lets face it, he's been much nicer than this guy!"

"True."

Nihlus narrowed his eyes at the Fallen as he began to rise. He snatched the bag of grenades from Ashley and threw them at the fuel tank. Then he pulled out his pistol and shot the grenades. The force of the explosion was enough to throw Shepard and her team off of their feet. Shepard looked to the Turian and widened her eyes. Battle was confusing when it moved quickly and the destruction from the giants battling one another created fatal traps from the broken landscape. Nihlus had landed on a pipe, which had slid through his chest. He coughed weakly, spitting blue blood onto the floor.

"No," she gasped.

Orion climbed onto the platform and looked at the fragile, broken Turian in shock.

"Victory no matter the cost," Nihlus said.

"No matter the cost," Orion muttered.

He knelt down as Shepard rushed to her ally. She prepped the medi-gel on her Omni-tool and scanned the nature of the injury.

"I…can't feel much underneath my waist Shepard," Nihlus coughed.

"Ratchet, if you're in range," Orion spoke over his radio.

"I'm sorry Orion, but we can't send reinforcements via ground bridge, you'll have to make do with what the humans have," Ratchet explained, lowering his head in shame as he oversaw the Minicon's care for the injured humans.

"Normandy, we need immediate medical evac, Nihlus has taken a hit," Shepard said.

"We're on our way commander…wait, COMMANDER GET OUT OF THERE!"

Shepard and her crew widened their eyes as the Fallen burst out of the flames. His form was burning, yet not bothered by the flames, as if he was a creature of hell itself. The flames turned into purple, dark Energon as the Fallen raised his spear.

"Surprisingly, that hurt," he snarled.

"You go through me before you get to them," Orion said as he stepped in the Fallen's way.

"Gladly," the creature lunged forward.

Orion caught the handle of the Fallen's spear, stopping it inches from his face. The Fallen snarled like an animal as Orion slid backwards. Orion's optics narrowed, his body found a new source of power, the urge, the instinct to protect the people behind him, to hold the line. He tightened his grip on the Fallen's spear as his chest let out a small, subtle glow. It went unnoticed by Orion, the Fallen however looked at Orion's chest in horror, as if he had come spark to spark with his nightmare.

"Impossible, only a Prime can…NO!" he screamed, jumping away from Orion.

Orion threw the spear into the Fallen's shoulder and rushed at his enemy. The Fallen however took to the skies, flying faster than anything Orion had ever seen before. He swooped past the Normandy, causing the ship to vibrate subtly. Orion looked at his chest, there was no light shining on it. He wondered what force in the galaxy could make the Fallen Prime, the strongest and most ruthless of the old Cybertron leaders to run away in terror. It wasn't the ship Orion raised his hands to surrender to, the humans whom struggled to stabilise their friend's condition. Whatever it was, Orion hoped it would intervene the next time he would face the Fallen.

* * *

Longarm Prime smashed his chair, his arm retracted to its original non-stretched position. The soldiers around Longarm looked at him with uneasy expressions, in particular young Autobot communications operator Sari. Already unique because of her organic name, her spark was formed from one of the numerous incubators saved by Megatron when he formed the Decepticon movement against the Protheans; she was the progeny or 'daughter' of two of Sentinel Prime's chief lab techs. Yellow armoured with her head based on the design of a helmet, Sari was not so much a combatant but a tech support officer. She opened a private channel to one of her friends, a former Wrecker called Bulkhead. Matching his name, Bulkhead was big and perhaps the strongest on board.

"What's up Sari?" the thick-jawed bot asked.

"It's the commander, he's angry, I think he actually intends to fight Megatron," she said.

"What?" Bulkhead widened his eyes. "We don't have nearly enough firepower to take on the Nemesis, Megatron also has some of the finest warriors under his command, and we've got soldiers fresh out of boot camp," he explained.

"Don't I know it," Sari rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

"Listen to me Sari, shut down the line, don't get caught sending private messages, keep your head down and there might be a chance that Megatron lets you live!"

"Not likely," she sighed.

"Sari, if you come face to face with Megatron don't try to fight, just surrender," Bulkhead said.

Sari lowered her gaze to her console and saw a blip on her radar. She immediately cut the line with Bulkhead and turned to the commander.

"Commander, incoming Autobot signature…he's hailing us sir!"

"On screen, and activate the turrets," Longarm commanded.

"This is Jetfire," the Autobot's jet form suddenly appeared on the main screen, flying towards the A1.

"Ah, come to defect again I see," Longarm laughed.

"No, I've told you Longarm and now I'm telling your men, everyone on the A1 abandon your posts and surrender to Megatron. He is approaching with the Combaticons and Stunticons, if you value being online then surrender and face imprisonment over destruction," Jetfire explained.

"HA! You believe my men will follow such an outlandish order, crew of the A1 you are the elite, stand with me and we will end Megatron's ridiculous rebellion against our authority, stand with the last of the true Primes!" Longarm declared.

"Longarm is no true Prime, the first to address him as such will have their voice box ripped out!"

Sari shook in fear as Megatron's voice echoed through her processors. His cold, unforgiving voice echoed through every inch of the ship, demanding a surrender. Bulkhead and his squad squeezed their blasters tightly. The Decepticon leader's reputation as a fighter was known amongst all Autobots. Jetfire swooped over the A1 as the crew on its surface rushed to their turrets.

"Please stop, your defiance will only get you a massacre," he said.

"If it's a massacre you want, then it's a massacre you'll get," Megatron declared.

He turned to his armada, low class seekers led by Soundwave. The intelligence officer pushed the buttons on his chest.

"Sir, communication systems have shut down throughout the ship," Sari gasped. "Even long range communications are out sir, we cant get a message to Ultra Magnus."

"To the pit with Ultra Magnus, I will rip out Megatron's spark myself," Longarm growled.

"Now our sensors are offline sir," Sari's hands shook as she stepped away from her console.

"Impossible, how can this happen?" Longarm asked.

"**Mission accomplished, Razorbeak, return to base!" **Soundwave commanded his robotic bird and saboteur.

Megatron flew at the front of the Decepticon attack force, the after burners on his jet mode left a trail of fire behind him.

"DECEPTICONS! WIPE THEM OUT!" he yelled.

"I thought he'd never ask," the Stunticon Wildrider said as he transformed to his car mode.

He and his teammates Dead End, Breakdown and Drag Strip landed on the surface of the A1. They fired the guns on the roofs of their car forms, cutting apart the Autobots rushing to the airlocks. Motormaster landed behind his team mates, firing shots from his sniper rifle at approaching Autobot sentries. The Combaticon flyers Blast off and Vortex swooped over the ship in their respective jet and helicopter forms, hitting the surface with missiles and blowing apart Autobot missile troopers. Onslaught landed with Swindle and Brawl. Swindle grabbed an Autobot trooper by his face and slammed him against a wall, before shooting his spark chamber. Brawl knocked two troopers back and then shot them both with his shoulder cannons.

"Lord Megatron, the team is on the surface, how goes the infiltration?" Onslaught asked, before blowing off an Autobot's head.

"As expected the defence is weak, shatter their hopes, combine now!" Megatron ordered.

"We've got the order boys," Onslaught said.

"YES!" Motormaster yelled in delight.

Onslaught flew upwards, folding his form until it resembled the torso of a metallic giant, complete with a head and cannons on his back. Swindle and Brawl both transformed, changing from their off road car and tank forms into a pair of legs. The monstrous torso linked with the legs as Blast Off and Vortex changed into a pair of arms. Hands shot out of the arms, squeezing into fists as they linked with the torso. The Autobots stumbled as the imposing monster walked across the ship, regarding it as a field to walk upon. They were not looking at any individual member of the Combaticons, they were running in fear of their true power, the destructive Decepticon formed from their hyper link, Bruticus. Not to be outdone, Motormaster and his team changed into their hyperlink forms. Each member of the Stunticons attached to the torso unit created by Motormaster. A head slid out of the body, smiling in satisfaction as the Autobots fired blindly, hoping to destroy him before he began his rampage. While Bruticus was a monster, Menasor was a giant, the Autobots could tell he was satisfied as he crushed their tanks and retreating car forms. Bruticus picked up groups of Autobots and threw them into space, letting them drift helplessly. He then released fire from his arms, melting rocket troopers around him.

"Fire, bring them down," the commander of a turret team said.

The two bots behind him loaded the rocket into the chamber and the main gunner took aim at Menasor. Soundwave flew over the cannon, opening his chest.

"**Rumble, Ravage eject and destroy!"**

The two Minicons, both sentient and equally as blood thirsty landed on the cannon. Rumble, a humanoid robot turned his hands into hammers and began slamming them against the ceiling.

"First we crack the shell, then we crack the nuts inside," he laughed.

The Autobot turret crew looked up at the ceiling as Rumble began to break through. Frenzy, Soundwave's robotic panther burst through the roof, sinking his teeth into the commander's neck. He ripped the Autobot's circuitry off of his throat and jumped at the closest Autobot. The young bot desperately fired his blaster, hitting the gunner by accident. As Ravage ripped into the trooper's head, Rumble jumped into the turret and crushed the gunner's head against the control console.

"Nuts cracked," Rumble said before he and Ravage changed into their cassette forms and returned to their master.

Jetfire let out a desperate yell as he flew directly into the Autobot hanger. He slammed his fist into the face of an aerial bot, throwing him against the wall. Then he kicked two and fired a wounding shot into one's chest.

"Do yourselves a favour, when Megatron comes through here put your hands up," Jetfire said.

He ran to the doorway, keeping his pistol raised. Jetfire looked at the Autobot symbol on his chest and wondered if he was doing the right thing. He defected from the Decepticons to Rodimus's command because at the time Rodimus had plans that made sense to him. Even when Rodimus went rogue against Sentinel and Magnus he chose to stay with the Prime, because his plan still made sense. Megatron was not unreasonable, when presented with a good argument he would give into logic. But today he had given into his anger and his hatred of the elitist Longarm. By Primus and his own spark Jetfire couldn't figure out whether he was truly in the right. No matter how hard he tried he was still consumed by the violent solution of the Decepticon order. He opened the door and dodged a stream of Autobot gunfire.

"Don't let them take the ship," the Autobot commander said.

"I'm not trying to take this ship, I'm TRYING TO SAVE IT!" Jetfire yelled as he transformed to jet mode and rammed the Autobot troopers.

He transformed and kicked a tall Autobot across the face, then stepped off of the shoulder of another and punched the commander in the head. Jetfire tripped the other two Autobots and then grabbed a forth, pushing him and the fifth against the wall. The sound of weapons fire alerted him that more Decepticon troops had breached the walls. He ran around the corner and his face fell in defeat. Two identical Decepticons were decimating the Autobot defenders, both jet types of similar size to Megatron. One was a blue and yellow bot who cleaved his enemies in two with a sword and the second had green and silver armour and mowed down Autobot gunners with a minigun. They were the brothers Dreadwing and Skyquake, just two more warriors of brutal efficiency whom chose loyalty to Megatron over their honour.

"Jetfire, good to see you have joined us in clearing out the rebels," Dreadwing said, putting his sword on his back.

"There are many more to clear out, Megatron has ordered every member of the crew to be executed for their crimes," Skyquake said.

"No, some may surrender, their only crime is having a stupid commander," Jetfire retorted.

Autobot troopers gathered at one of the blast doors. They prepared path blasters, rail guns and concussion rifles as the blast doors creaked. Bulkhead walked up behind the Autobots, preparing himself and his wrecking ball. The blast door was slowly torn open and the Autobots gasped in fear. Megatron himself stood at the doorway, holding it open.

"Its him, Megatron," some of the Autobots said.

"BLAST HIM YOU FOOLS!" Bulkhead yelled.

Megatron fired his fusion cannon, hitting the first two Autobots in front of him. Energy flew past him as he ran at the Autobots, firing shot after shot that hit its mark. He drew what appeared to be a staff from his back. Energon spikes suddenly slit out of the top, revealing it to be Megatron's mace. He crushed two Autobots before moving onto Bulkhead. The green armoured Autobot shot out his wrecking ball, scratching Megatron's shoulder. He widened his eyes as the Decepticon leader head butted him, knocking him back. Bulkhead began reeling in his wrecking ball, hoping to hit Megatron as it returned. But Megatron ducked, allowing the ball to return to Bulkhead's arm. He then rushed forward, delivering a series of brutal strikes to the former wrecker's body. Bulkhead felt one of the blows dislodge his jaw and another shatter his T-cog. Megatron span around and slammed his mace into Bulkhead's chest, sending him crashing through the door to the bridge. Bulkhead slid across the floor, stopping at Sari's feet.

"BULKHEAD!" she screamed, falling to her knees and looking at the blue spikes protruding from her friend's chest.

The Autobots looked to their leader, and any hope they had of Longarm rallying a defence was dashed. Their leader was just as scared as they were. Dreadwing and Skyquake stepped up behind their leader, a fearless bot and a warrior unlike Longarm.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Kill him, I order you to DESTROY HIM!" Longarm yelled.

"You'll have to get your own gears dirty for a change Longarm," Megatron said.

Longarm's body shook as he grit his teeth together.

"SLAAAAG!" he screamed, stretching his arms towards Megatron.

He grabbed Megatron's shoulders and pulled him up onto the command chair. Megatron instead welcomed the grapple; it gave him the range to slam his head against Longarm's. Longarm fell off of the chair and slammed back first onto the floor.

"Skyquake, Dreadwing, make sure no one interferes," Megatron said.

Megatron narrowed his eyes slightly as Jetfire entered the room. He then looked to Longarm, ejecting his fusion cannon and letting it fall to the ground.

"This one is mine," he raised his fists into a fighting stance.

Longarm thrust his fist towards Megatron, but the old gladiator punched the fist back. He rushed forward, punching Longarm multiple times across the face. Longarm attempted a wild haymaker, which Megatron blocked. The Decepticon leader then slammed his head into his hated enemy, throwing him against a nearby console. Megatron grabbed the back of Longarm's head and smashed his face into the radar screen. He pushed Longarm onto the floor. The Prime looked at his soldiers for help, but upon seeing the brutal markings on his face, refused to move. Skyquake readied his minigun for good measure and Dreadwing brandished his sword. Jetfire looked towards Sari, the diminutive bridge bunny squeezed her hands into fists.

"Megatron please, if I had not done what I did the council would have been endangered, the battle of Iacon would have gone on longer than necessary," Longarm explained.

"The battle would have been won all the same, our young had no defence, you were assigned to that region and you abandoned them," Megatron retorted, slamming his foot into Longarm's back. "The council were fools, but they didn't make you a Prime for that did they? Oh we both know what was happening at Iacon to make you abandon us don't we?" he asked, grabbing the Prime's arms and pushing his foot against his back.

"No, please don't," Longarm bumbled. "Please have mercy!"

Megatron frowned at Longarm before ripping the bots arms clean off. Longarm screamed in agony and blades shot out of Sari's wrists.

"Don't do it," Jetfire said.

"Now, this can end two ways Longarm, I can leave you to die as just another casualty of my rise or I can grant you more mercy than you deserve in exchange for information, the same mercy granted to hundreds of opponents of the gladiator whose face my followers bear as a symbol, the one whose ways inspired the masses of Kaon to become more than what the council intended of them," Megatron grinded his knee against Longarm's shoulder and squeezed the circuitry on his severed limbs.

"What do you want? anything I can give I will, just promise me mercy," Longarm said.

"It won't hurt your chances," Megatron snarled. "Who is Orion Pax?"

"A record clerk at the Iacon hall of records, didn't Rodimus tell you?" Longarm asked.

"What is Rodimus's connection to Pax?"

"He was in charge of security at Iacon, he and Pax didn't actually work together until the Protheans attacked it," Longarm said.

"But there is more to him isn't there?" Megatron presumed.

"To Orion yes," Longarm whimpered.

"Did Rodimus know?"

"He knew only what Sentinel allowed him to know!"

"Memory bank manipulation?"

"Primus no, Sentinel used more subtle means of manipulation, he gave Rodimus the matrix and Prime status as a sign of trust, a trust Rodimus was supposed to return but then he put Orion Pax in charge of a small unit…he was threatening the council's original plan so my ship has been watching the G2 at a distance," Longarm explained.

Sari widened her eyes slightly. She knew that the A1 was always close to the G2, but she and the rest of the crew never realised that was the exact nature of their mission.

"Nemesis," Megatron muttered, confusing Jetfire greatly.

'What is the significance of Megatron's ship, what are they talking about?' Jetfire wondered.

"Then you know?" Longarm asked.

"Yes, there is nothing more you can tell me, your uselessness is at an end!"

"No, Megatron please, I can still make reparations for the loss of D-17," Longarm said.

"YOUR SPARK WILL DO!" Megatron yelled.

He shoved his hand through Longarm's chest and ripped out his spark chamber. Longarm looked at his blinking spark in shock, even as Megatron crushed it in his hands. The colours across Longarm's body faded and turned grey, before crumbling to dust. Sari gasped at the brutality before narrowing her eyes at the Decepticon commander. Afterburners slid out of her back and feet.

"YOU MURDERER!" she yelled, flying towards Megatron.

A blast flew past Jetfire's head and slammed into Sari's back. Dreadwing fired a second shot, hitting Sari's chest as she twisted in midair. Megatron then grabbed her by her neck, scoffing at her size and attempt at resistance.

"I seems Magnus is getting desperate, sending bots straight from the incubation chambers to face me," he huffed before throwing Sari against the wall. "Still you have a fire I never thought I would see, whilst the others cowered you fought," he said.

"And you seemed intent on killing Longarm no matter what he did," Sari said.

"Perceptive aren't you?"

"I got that from my teacher," Sari's mouth plate turned up, indicating a smirk.

"I could use intelligence like that in my forces, there is much Shockwave can teach you," Megatron said.

"Like how to be an evil pit destined bot?" Sari asked.

"We are not evil, we do what is necessary!"

"Necessary? Like your hatred of Longarm, I can understand it, but it wasn't necessary to kill him like that. Like your intent to wipe out the Protheans, it's true they never made the effort to understand us, but that doesn't mean the other species beyond the relay will. Is your intent to enslave all whom are weak, to force them to change necessary? Will it be necessary to destroy drain a young world of its resources before the species of that world can evolve and achieve their full potential? And what about the Sparkling's born under Autobot care, with ideals that oppose yours? Where does your path to rule end Megatron, what choice will you give people?"

Megatron threw Sari to the ground. He picked up his fusion cannon and reattached it to his arm.

"Bow or die," he said, pointing the cannon at Sari.

One by one the Autobots bowed, at least those whom the Combaticons and Stunticons weren't incinerating on the surface of the ship. Sari herself however didn't bow; she stood with her knees shaking, but no doubt proud of her answer.

"The bot your symbol was based on, he believed in something every sentient being in the galaxy shares from the moment they achieve existence, something that is their right. He wouldn't have bowed, no one should bow, so I wont, even if it means death!" she said defiantly.

Jetfire reached out with his hand, only for Dreadwing to touch his shoulder, shaking his head at the futility of interference.

"You are very brave," Megatron said softly.

All sound left Jetfire's processors, he couldn't hear Megatron's fusion cannon, or determine if Sari screamed in her last moment. He only saw her remains scatter across the floor.

"Join them, or join me," Megatron said sternly to the Autobots.

Jetfire lowered his head as the survivors of Longarm's crew began to alter the symbols on their armour. He looked at what was left of Sari's face and thought about her words.

'How far will you go Megatron? Where will you stop?' he wondered.

He felt like screaming, for he had joined Rodimus because he thought he presented a better way. Was there anyone in the galaxy with beliefs that matched his own? Was there anyone willing to fight for what was right and not what was most convenient?

'Orion Pax!' Jetfire narrowed his eyes, secretly deciding his future.

Next Chapter 5: A very odd first contact

* * *

More brutal action, is Nihlus dead you wonder? You'll have to read next chapter to find out. Jetfire struggles with his allegiance, Orion experiences strange visions and Megatron reveals the cause of his intense anger.

Some notes for this chapter, I based Sari on the main human character in Transformers Animated, her design is based on her cyborg form in that show. Voice imagined as Tara Strong, who as well as voicing the character in Transformers Animated also voiced characters such as Raven in Teen Titans, X-23 in Marvel Vs Capcom 3, Rikku in Final Fantasy X and additional voices in many shows and games.

Bulkhead was also first introduced (or at least gained popularity) in Transformers Animated, in this fic he was based design and personality wise on his Transformers Prime counterpart. Would have also been voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson, famous for numerous voice roles including Jolee Bindo in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Kilowog in Green Lantern the animated Series and Pantro in Thundercats 2011

Longarm Prime, another design wise based on his Transformers Animated, but with a new background as an elitist Autobot whose not respected because of his superiority complex, which is a contradiction of his lack of actual leadership abilities, he wanted to be named Prime because he believed that alone would make others follow him. I imaged Corey Burton for dialogue, whom as well as voicing Longarm in animated also voiced Shockwave for the original G1 franchise and other series and voiced Brainiac in Superman the animated series and many other DC shows, he has also acted as an audio double for Christopher Lee in Star Wars the Clone Wars and the Kingdom Hearts series.

The Fallen, serving as one of the primary villains of this first part of the series, his design is based on the Bay movies. Voice wise I imagine Fred Tatasciore and the tone he used when voicing Megatron in the War for Cybertron games. He's also famous for voicing the Hulk in multiple Marvel projects, Damon Baird in Gears of War and Mass Effect's own Saren Arterius

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, next time Orion begins first contact with the Citadel and tries to negotiate a peaceful welcoming as the council discusses the Geth presence on Eden Prime.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers or Mass Effect

This chapter presents what I hope is a more optimistic approach to first contact, I mean the Autobots have already proven themselves to be friendly. But I'm hoping to still put some tension in there, some of it humorous and some of it serious.

Some humor, references and revelations in this chapter, enjoy

* * *

Transform Effect 1: Rise a Prime

Chapter 5: A very odd first contact

There were moments in history where the very soul of a species was defined by their actions. One of those moments was first contact, the first interaction between two galactic societies. Orion knew that the Cybertronian first contact with the Protheans ended badly and he was willing to use that as an example to the leaders of Shepard's galactic community. He would put himself forward as a political hostage, to tip the scales, because there was no doubt in his mind that the council would regard the humans on the G1 as hostages too. They were however refugees, in need of medical care. Ratchet's minicons did more than provide medical care for the humans; they provided friendlier faces for the humans to first interact with. But Orion's decision to go onto the Normandy wasn't just faced with opposition from the Normandy side. Cliff Jumper had been pacing around the medical bay for some time, ruining Ratchet's chances of appearing friendly to the humans.

"Cog it," the bot growled, smashing his fist into some instruments.

"Cliff Jumper, I needed that," Ratchet said.

Cliff Jumper backed away sheepishly. Bumblebee then entered alongside Blaster.

"Their young are tiny," Blaster said, gesturing to the human children.

"Its often the smallest creatures that carry the biggest surprises," Bumblebee remarked.

"Personal experience?"

"Well I did once take down a Decepticon giant once with just an electric stinger!"

"That's nothing, I once outran the Seekers then tricked them into shooting one another with my cloak," Cliff Jumper said.

"Well excuse me whilst I do what you guys can't," Blaster said as he began walking towards the humans.

The parents quickly covered their children as the red armoured robot approached. He knelt in front of them, smiling and holding up his hands.

"Easy, don't let Cliff Jumper bother you, a lot of us are actually like you guys, people trying to get by you know?" he asked.

"Why have you taken us?" one of the humans asked.

"You needed help, we know about your first contact war with the Turians, they attacked you over a law you didn't have any prior knowledge on when alls they needed to do was talk to you. We Cybertronians know a bit about that so my commander wanted first contact to start a little differently, for us to help one another, I personally don't need a reason to help someone," Blaster explained.

"Hey Blaster I don't see what you're doing what we cant," Cliff Jumper said.

"He's doing it a lot better though," Bumblebee shoved Cliff Jumper's chest.

"Uniting people through something we can both understand, we've read a lot about humans and Turians, Asari, Salarians, every race through the galactic wide extra-net, that's how we're able to speak your languages. I know about your music and let me tell you I love human music, especially rock…but there is this one song that is my favourite, there are probably more for me to find but let me show you this one first, I like it because of its theme," Blaster pushed a few buttons on his gauntlet.

The humans looked to Blaster as he began to generate music.

"What is that?" one of the humans asked.

"That's when we aaaal wiiin!" Blaster sang along with the song.

"It's a song from a band that existed prior to the Alliance's formation."

"The right thing to guide us, is right here inside us, no one can divide us when the light is nearly gone, but just like a heart beat, the drum beat carries on!"

The humans smiled subtly as Bumblebee began dancing, or shuffling his feet and swaying his hips at least to the tune Blaster generated. Cliff Jumper crossed his arms together and huffed, leaning against the wall. Ratchet recovered from the momentary distraction, only to be drawn to sudden yelling that scared the Minicons away from two patients. He walked over to the patients, kneeling beside them.

"What's happening?" he asked the head of his Minicon staff, Red Alert.

"The woman has another life form inside of her, its disgusting," Red Alert said.

Red Alert was one of the few Minicons with a fully aware sentient personality. The other red and white rescue bots had child like personalities and were scared of anything new. Treating humans was a new opportunity. Ratchet scanned the woman; her chest was bloated due to the other life form inside her.

"I've never come across something like this," Red Alert muttered.

"I have, with organic animals we saw on patrol," Ratchet said.

"My wife, she's pregnant, but the baby should've come out sooner," the woman's husband said.

Ratchet grit his teeth together, it was always frustrating to have to study through the extra-net. He gained his knowledge in a few seconds and connected to his surgical instruments.

"Your child will not be born naturally, it is stuck, but I can perform what you humans call a caesarean, but the chemicals we have will not have the exact same effects as morphine or medi-gel," Ratchet explained.

"Wait, what does that mean?" the woman asked hysterically.

"This is going to be extremely painful," Ratchet said as he began prepping the surgical laser, it was usually used for dissecting beasts for study, but Ratchet would use it for a different purpose, to save two lives.

"No, please I can't do this," the woman looked up the giant, her eyes begging him to stop.

"For Primus's sake, I am a doctor, not a scientist, this is the only way I know of to save your child, now if there's anything anyone wants to suggest please do…if not, then let me do my job," Ratchet yelled before turning to his patient.

The woman yelled out, tears flowing from her eyes as the surgical laser crept underneath her belly. The painkillers were not nearly as effective as they would have been in a hospital. Ratchet allowed the husband to stay at her side, holding her hand as Red Alert injected drugs to encourage her healing process, and to bolster the child's strength. Blaster, Bumblebee, Cliff Jumper and the other refugees watched desperately as Ratchet performed surgery. Red Alert pulled the baby from the mother's womb, holding it with an uneasy expression as the child cried.

"That confirms he's alive, wait…there is a genetic fault in its DNA, we must act quickly," Ratchet said.

"What's wrong?" the man asked.

"The child has a fault in its…no **her** genetic structure, she has a severe case of asthma," Ratchet said.

"How are you going to fix that?" Red Alert asked.

"Exposure to spark energy," Ratchet took the girl from Red Alert's grasp and opened his chest.

The humans gasped as a light emerged from Ratchet's chest. They looked upon the very heart of a transformer, their spark, their soul and light of their life. The light of the spark shined over the girl and Ratchet smiled as the genetic faults began to fade. She struggled to breath, but upon feeling the warmth of the light she relaxed, rubbing her back against the cold metal of his hands. He had bought new meaning to the term 'cold hands, warm heart'. The doctor closed his spark chamber and gave the child back to the father.

"Baby, we have a daughter, she's safe," the man said.

"My daughter," the woman gasped weakly.

"Let them both rest, they will need it," Ratchet said.

"Thank you," the man whispered.

Bumblebee walked over to the mother with several other humans as she cradled the child.

"She's so tiny," Cliff Jumper said, looking over Bumblebee's shoulder. "But kind of cute!"

"Not cute Cliff, beautiful," Bumblebee muttered.

"I still think how they make those is sick!"

"On that account we'll agree, and agree to disagree with the humans, but I don't think there's a life form in the galaxy that could disagree with how wonderful the result is," the scout smiled as he looked at the fragile but beautiful baby.

Blaster walked over to Ratchet, gripping his shoulder.

"How did you know your spark would do that?" the communications officer asked.

"You remember that mission on Gaia prior to Orion taking command?" Ratchet asked.

"Yeah, we found a small Energon deposit after surveying the planet for drilling," Blaster said

"I initially believed that there were no intelligent creatures there, I was wrong, right when drilling began two animals were caught in the rubble, I managed to get them out but they were wounded, I used energy from my own spark to heal them, because they were showing prior signs of evolution, of becoming a better race. I wasn't going to rob a species or a planet of an evolved being capable of accomplishing wonders on that planet," Ratchet explained.

"That's risky, it could have altered your personality, made you colder," Blaster said.

"Patients don't need doctors with good bedside manners, they just need doctors," Ratchet dismissed.

Blaster watched his friend continue working, concerned over his spark. He felt a tapping on his foot and looked down to see two teenage humans.

"Do you do requests?" they asked.

He smiled, it seemed his 'unity through music' plan had some success.

* * *

Whilst his crew followed alongside the Normandy, Orion himself faced some difficulty. Crewmembers in the cargo hold looked at Orion in confusion. He had driven into the cargo bay in his vehicle form. Shepard climbed out of the truck and admired the design, she was an automobile enthusiast, all of the cars from the twenty first century seemed retro to some people, but she liked them. Medical teams carried Nihlus on a stretcher, Chakwas was applying immediate medical care and Shepard's admiration of her only increased, she focused more on the living Nihlus than grief over the dead Jenkins.

"Aren't you going to change back?" Shepard asked the truck.

"I would prefer not to intimidate your crew," Orion said.

"Too late for that," Ashley muttered.

The elevator doors opened and Anderson stepped onto the deck. Orion watched the respect the crew showed by their fast salute to the man. Clearly Anderson was a good commander, none of the crew delayed following his orders. He stood in front of the truck and looked at Shepard.

"You'd best start writing a report Shepard, get out of that bloody gear as well, I'll have to report to Udina shortly regarding our new cargo," Anderson explained.

"I'm not cargo, I am either a guest or a political prisoner, regard me either as those. I want to immediately make it clear to you captain that my crew and I, no every member of our species refuses to be dismissed as mere machines. If your people continue to dismiss us as such, to not understand us then there will never be true peace between our races," Orion explained.

"I heard the communications from Eden Prime, you were helping us which is more than I can say for the council, but I'm no scientist, my experience with religion is limited as well, what would you say to people whom ask if you have a soul or whom created you?" Anderson asked.

"I see you are wasting no time, very well captain, for your report and to avoid any confusion I will tell you this…while the exact scientific explanation of our creation has not yet been discovered, I can tell you that every Cybertronian is descendent from Primus, the first inhabitant of Cybertron. Throughout the years our technology and society has advanced without the interference of organics, there came a point when our people began a moment of exploration and expansion, but after the Fallen one rose up in rebellion that project was abandoned and the development of Cybertron itself became our sole focus."

"We were by no means a perfect society, the ruling council of our planet, from the capital city of Iacon enforced a caste system that divided the planet. Every Cybertronian child was born into a selected purpose and given knowledge to suit that purpose, as a soldier, a leader or a scientist. So as such we were victims of…I suppose the human term is 'controlled genetics' yes? In one district of Cybertron was an underdeveloped city called Kaon, which was where the Energon mines and gladiatorial arenas were formed!"

"You had arenas, that's pretty barbaric, no offence," Shepard said.

"It was, I don't know why the council chose to form them, but in Kaon there were two hells, the Energon mines and the arena pits. It was there that two gladiators began to question the judgements of the council and their growing corruption, through their examples the Cybertronians gradually began to cast aside the old system and choose their destinies, bots believed better suited as soldiers became labourers, politicians teachers, engineers artists and scientists priests!"

"You had priests, what was your religious belief?" Anderson asked.

"Till all are one!" Orion said before he transformed.

Anderson stepped back as Orion's body folded, changing into his robotic form.

"It is the promise of the Autobots, that one day every sentient being in the galaxy will be united by mutual understanding and peace. I believe that time will come, but things need to be done to make that promise a reality, actions and at times acts of faith. I am putting faith in your community to judge our actions accordingly. So far only one of us has harmed your people, he is a member of our species, we acknowledge that but we had had so little contact with him that we thought he was already dead and we will do everything we can to help you track and apprehend him," Orion explained.

"Do you know why the Geth attacked us?" Anderson asked.

"My guess is as good as yours, they were trying to find the data stored on the Prothean beacon, which I am sorry to say was corrupt long before their arrival. The information was accessed though before I downloaded the digitised data," Orion said.

"The Geth?" Shepard asked.

"No, the information was not downloaded but displayed directly into an organic mind, perhaps the Turian whom had been leading them!"

Anderson and Shepard looked at one another, and then at Orion. He tilted his head curiously before pushing a button on his helmet.

"This is what the Turian looked like," a life like holographic image suddenly appeared before the humans.

Shepard regarded the image with confusion. Anderson however narrowed his eyes in hatred. The grey skinned Turian standing before him was a face from his past.

"Saren," Anderson snarled.

"You know him, an infamous criminal perhaps?" Orion asked.

"Far from it, he's the top agent of the council enforcers the spectres, Nihlus isn't going to like this if he makes it, that reminds me Shepard, once you've finished your report send it to Udina and then meet me in my office," Anderson explained.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Orion asked.

"Yes, if you intend to meet with the council I need you to tell me as much as you are allowed to, I understand you're a soldier and that certain things will be classified but in order for first contact between our race and yours to be peaceful we cannot allow there to be any misunderstandings, don't you agree?" Anderson asked.

"I agree completely captain!"

"Good, Shepard, go up and make your report, both for the council and Udina, and try to put an end to the hearsay amongst the crew would you?"

"Yes sir," Shepard saluted before turning to the elevator.

"Commander!"

Shepard turned to Orion, whose mouth plate rose to signal a smile.

"Thank you for saving my life," he said.

"Likewise," Shepard smiled back.

Once the elevator door closed, Anderson looked to Orion, addressing him like a soldier.

"I am Captain David Anderson of the Alliance Navy, what's your designation?" he asked.

"Orion Pax, commander of the exploration team G1," Orion said.

"Are you the leader of your people?"

"No sir, I am simply a soldier, de facto command of the Autobots would fall to Ultra Magnus, the commander of the largest military force of Autobots in the galaxy, unless the Ark has been discovered," Orion explained.

"What is the Ark?"

"A science vessel led by our foremost scientist Sentinel Prime, Sentinel and his crew disappeared a thousand years ago."

"Would you say your species is united?" Anderson asked.

Orion lowered his head and sighed.

"I'm afraid we are not, in fact we are more divided than ever," the Autobot said sadly as he began to tell his tale to Anderson, with nothing but the truth.

First contact could afford no secrets.

* * *

Saren Arterius stroked his nose in frustration. He listened to the screaming of his supposed ally. Their 'master' was angered by the Fallen's cowardice on Eden Prime. His focus on punishing the Fallen meant that Saren had time to think; he suspected that the Alliance would respond to the beacon and that the council would want in on it too. But for all their talk of unity the council was hypocritical, they hid their bigotry with smiles and false promises. The Asari in particular were controlling, oh if humanity did very well prove itself worthy then they would accept them to appease the masses, but ultimately they wanted control. Saren's own people had played by the Asari's rules, reducing the production of their ships, even pulling back on research projects. All to gain a position on the council, which didn't really amount to anything in terms of the coming storm. Saren worked with the Geth and the Fallen's master for one reason, to keep his people safe, to keep the galaxy safe, even the humans who took his brother from him.

"Our contacts within the alliance have reported back to us," a voice said from behind Saren.

He didn't need to turn to know it was Matriarch Benezia, cold-blooded Asari diplomat, and warm-hearted mother of a supposed expert in Prothean history. She was a valuable ally if an ignorant one, though Saren considered that a blessing. If she knew the full extent of the

"What happened?" Saren asked.

"It is as the Fallen said, an Autobot interfered and saved the colony, the Normandy was also involved, I believe the captain was David Anderson," Benezia explained.

"And what of the beacon?"

"The Autobot, he downloaded the information," Benezia said.

Saren squeezed his armrest. The master would not be pleased, obvious by how the Fallen's screams grew louder. Within the chamber that housed the main reactor of the ship, husks and Geth circled around the Fallen. He had been driven to his knees, coils of red energy held his arms up and the generator of the ship shined, as if the ship itself was angry. A loud growling sound filled the chamber and the Fallen yelled in deafening pain.

"He has it, he has the matrix," the Fallen whimpered.

Again the loud metallic growl filled the room.

"I know," the Fallen cried, "I know that we must destroy it, we must not rest until the matrix of leadership and its bearer, any Autobot worthy of wielding it is destroyed…no, I cannot face him, I must not face him, it will put your plans in jeopardy, but our friend, he will be on his way soon, let the Decepticons deal with the matrix templar, let the fools kill one another for us and I promise you Nazara that this galaxy will bow to our master!"

The Fallen smiled but his jailor persisted, causing him to scream yet again. Failure would be appreciated, for in the eyes of Nazara the cycle was central to order in the galaxy.

* * *

Shepard sat in the mess hall, tapping the holographic buttons to type out her report. Her first report since returning to active duty and she couldn't say 'everything went as planned' as she hoped. Whatever was on the beacon was far more important than the bureaucracy of the council. All of her instincts told her to trust Orion, that though he didn't speak for the rest of his people he spoke for the rest of his crew and second after second Shepard read excerpts from the extra-net about how the Autobots helped to save Eden Prime. Of course there were people putting fourth the obvious, that this was a small group of 'transformers' as they had taken to calling them, what was the rest of their species like? Then there were conspiracy theorists saying that the Geth had built super advanced machines to infiltrate Citadel society for an invasion, and the typical teenage response, 'the transformers are awesome'.

"I don't know, they seem too good to be true," she heard one of the crewmen state sceptically.

The crewman was, if Shepard recalled correctly Marcus Grieco, part of CIC. He must have been off duty, sitting with Ashley and the engineers Talitha and Rosamund Draven.

"You were down their Williams, did the robot seem genuine?" Talitha asked.

"I couldn't really tell, I mean looking at the Geth and the transformers you can tell that they aren't based on Geth technology, I don't know who built them," Ashley explained.

"Maybe they really are sentient," Rosamund suggested.

"That would require them to have souls, god given souls," Ashley retorted.

"God granted us souls and free will right Ash?" Shepard suddenly asked.

"Yeah, of course," Ashley said.

"Machines are bound by logic and commands, now I don't claim to know much about the Geth but what I do know is that machines can not lie or deceive, if this is a highly articulated deception then that proves that Orion and his allies are sentient. However this shouldn't be a question of 'are they alive or not?' It's a question of 'is peace possible' and from what they have shown so far I believe at least with Orion and his crew it is possible. But a wise man did say that if you want peace, prepare for war," Shepard explained.

"I thought you came from the streets Shepard," Marcus said.

"Just because I grew up in the Bronx doesn't mean I turned out to be a complete thug, there were old libraries on my street, I read some of the books and watched a lot of vids, that along with the first hand lessons of who not to be like, taught me a lot of appealing beliefs and I stand by my beliefs," Shepard smiled before she walked away from the table.

She walked to her quarters and put on her computer. Opening the Extra-net, Shepard searched for the articles published by experts on the Protheans. She was looking for any discovery that hinted at the existence of the transformers. Orion Pax called them Cybertronians, but the closest thing she could find to an answer was an article published by an Asari archaeologist, Dr Liara T'Soni. The article itself had been published fairly close to the time the shakedown run began. T'Soni remarked how a group of the Protheans had carved images of metallic giants into the cave walls, perhaps as a form of warning or to revere the giants. One discovery made just before the Normandy shakedown began, the Geth would have had to have prepared metallic giants able to communicate multiple languages and unique personalities, that couldn't have been done in the time between T'Soni's discovery and the Normandy launch.

'Those people, I believe they aren't part of the Geth, just like I have to believe that I had survived for a reason,' Shepard thought.

"Shepard," Joker said over the intercom. "We're coming up to the Citadel now, come up and see the tax payers money at work!"

Shepard pushed the send button for her report and rushed up to the cockpit, with Ashley following behind her. Kaidan was already at the cockpit, sitting in the co-pilot seat. Shepard looked out of the window, seeing the sheer size of the G1. It was twice the size of the Normandy and of course had to be in order to house its crew. For a moment Shepard wondered how big the real battleships of the transformers were. Her attention was then drawn to the Citadel, the wondrous space station. Turian and Asari ships were floating around the station, along with a ship that dwarfed them all.

"The Destiny Ascension, flagship of the Asari fleet," Kaidan said, noticing Shepard's curious expression.

"Well size isn't everything," Joker said.

"Why so touchy Joker?" Ashley asked.

"I'm just saying you've gotta have firepower too!"

"Look at that monster, its main gun could rip right through the shields of any ship in the alliance fleet."

"Good thing its on our side, as well as the G1," Kaidan muttered.

"Oh you don't need to worry about the G1 Alenko, Orion order us to disarm the gunnery stations…yeah I know you think it's a mistake Arcee but its captains orders…HEY! Watch your mouth, especially in front of the little ones," a voice spoke over the radio.

"Hey Commander, you should talk to Pax's second officer, he's the coolest of the bunch," Joker said.

"Thanks Joker, you know I didn't think humans would have a sense of humour but your all right!"

"Who is this?" Shepard asked, connecting her Omni-tool to the communication line.

"Name's Jazz, pilot of the G1 and Orion Pax's second in command," Jazz said.

"He was apparently a racing legend back on his home planet," Kaidan said.

"That's right, five time winner, even went a whole season of nothing but first place wins before I went pro. Listen I know a lot of you are nervous but try not to be, Orion Pax trains us well," Jazz sat back on his chair, resting his feet on the controls. "There's no better team than team Prime!"

"Team Prime, you've got to be kidding, the captain isn't even a Prime yet," Arcee said, stepping up behind Jazz.

Jazz took his legs off the controls and shut down the communications channel.

"He ain't a Prime yet girl," he said.

"HA! You really think he can become a Prime? He's a librarian whose lost the fire of his spark, he left Cup to die and now he's putting us in danger by making us prisoners to these primitive organics," Arcee explained.

"Primitive maybe, but they're good people, that Alenko's a nice guy and Joker…I haven't laughed that hard in a long time," Jazz wiped his visor as he set his feet on the controls again.

"I don't trust them, they based their technology on the Protheans, not to mention their ridiculous laws against AI's. They have basically declared a group of people illegal, its disgusting, and the Asari, for all their self righteousness they're just as bad, no worse than the other species, at least Batarians don't hide their slavery under pretty names like Indentured servitude," Arcee motioned quotation marks with her fingers and Jazz gasped, looking at the communication's console in shock.

He had accidentally responded to a hail from nearby council ships. Suffice to say the captain of the Asari ship leading the escort was less than pleased by Arcee's opinion of the mono-gendered race.

"Um, Arcee," Jazz sheepishly chuckled as she showed the on light to Arcee.

"You stupid, Cog-sucking, oil drenched heaper you," Arcee snarled.

"Easy about the language girl we've got people on the OW…YOW!" the crew of the Normandy, plus the escort ships from the Asari and Turian fleets listened to the crunching sound of Arcee pushing her fist into the top of Jazz's head.

Their antics went ignored by Ironhide and a group of human children. They sat around the weapons officer, gasping in awe as he recounted one of his old war stories.

"There we were surrounded by metal piranhas, Sideswipe was nursing a chomped up arm and Blur was so terrified, I don't think I've ever heard an Autobot talk that fast. I had just a full clip on my cannons left, I knew that if I didn't act fast my team mates would be ripped apart by the approaching horde. But then I noticed a gas pocket in the crevice," Ironhide whispered, bringing his head low to look at the children.

"THEN!" he jumped onto his feet, drawing his cannons, "I fired one shot straight through the jaw of a piranha and the blast flew into the crevice and then BOOM!" he yelled, mimicking an explosion with his arms. " The explosion cut down some of their numbers and knocked me down onto my back. Seven more approached Sideswipe, who couldn't get to his swords in time. I shot and hit the first chomper, then fired another blast at the second, BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!"

"Click! And I gasped, I was out of ammo, and the last chomper was heading straight for my buddy, I knew I had to act fast so I did the first thing that came to mind. I grabbed Sideswipe's foot and threw him to shelter and then wrestled the piranha to the ground. He was chomping and snarling at me, RAAARGH! RAAARGH! I snarled back for good measure and mustered all of my strength, and then, CRACK! I ripped his jaw clean off, and that's the story of how I saved my squadron from a family of metal Piranha's," Ironhide grinned as the children clapped and cheered.

Cliff Jumper suddenly appeared behind Ironhide, leaning on his shoulder.

"He then got demoted by Ultra Magnus for breaking ranks, was transferred to our little exploration vessel," he said.

The children laughed as Ironhide glared at Cliff Jumper. Meanwhile, Ratchet gripped his audio processors as Bumblebee and Blaster began adopting the human hobby of 'air instruments'. Music blared out of Blaster's gauntlet as he mimicked the riffs of a guitar, whilst Bumblebee waved his arms around as if he was beating a drum.

"TRANSFORMERS!" the two bots yelled.

"Something evil's watching over you, coming from the sky above, and there's nothing you can dooo!"

"Prepare to strike there'll be no place to ruuun!"

"When you're caught within the grip, of the evil MEGATRON!"

"TRANSFORMERS! More than meets the eye! TRANSFORMERS! ROBOTS IN DISGUISE! Autobots wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of, the Decepticons!"

"I am going to end up cursing the day Blaster discovered humanity," Ratchet sighed as the young bots continued their 'performance'.

"Blaster, Blaster why isn't the ship's communications officer responding?" Orion asked over the radio.

Blaster and Bumblebee immediately stood to attention.

"Sorry sir, I was just um helping Ratchet maintain the morale of his patients," Blaster said.

"Unidentified ship, we've confirmed reports from Eden Prime that you have hostages in your possession," a Turian voiced echoed over the radio.

"Hostages?" Bumblebee widened his eyes in confusion.

"Who is this?" Shepard asked fiercely.

"Kelem Paric and don't get involved human, a few fighters will escort you to bay D-24 so your cargo can be examined. Geth attacks have been reported on Eden Prime and…"

"Yeah no shit Paric I was there and whilst you were here holding the council's hands as they discussed how to tell us they weren't coming to help I was taking Geth gunfire and watching as one of our most peaceful colonies became a war zone, and I get it…you've got your marching orders and I respect that but respect this, the crew of the G1 saved lives and they are here in peace. The G1 comes to bay D-24 with us or without us, now keeping in mind we have a council Spectre with us in critical condition, do you want to delay him getting medical treatment any longer?"

"No ma'am, but I hope you understand first contact protocols, assume hostilities until proven otherwise, you have proof but we don't and I'm afraid I must insist that the G1 follows us to a secured docking station away from the public eye, we don't want to insight a panic," Paric explained.

"Excuse me, is this thing working?"

Shepard looked at her fellow crewmembers uneasily. Paric did the same, though with much more confusion.

"Who is this?" the Turian asked.

"Cade Yeager sir, I'm no body important, I owned a garage at Eden Prime, my business was destroyed but I would have lost a lot more than that if the Autobots hadn't shown up," a human man explained, speaking into the microphone on Blaster's arm.

"Autobots?" the Turians raised their eyebrows questionably.

"Its what they call themselves sir, anyway my daughter's nearly constantly on her Omni-tool and word has been spreading sir, I know you want to contain this situation but people already know, pictures have been taken, I think you should let them introduce themselves," Cade explained.

"He has a point Paric, this isn't something we can keep quiet anymore, better for the council to not delude themselves on that matter," Shepard said.

"Very well, but there will be an armed guard waiting, Normandy, G1 follow us to docking bay D-24," Paric said.

Orion sighed in relief, step one was out of the way. The council fighters hovered slightly further away from the G1 as they led them into the Citadel. Jazz looked at the outer cameras, at the masses of people looking up at the G1.

"We're about to make history boss bot," Jazz whispered.

"Ironhide, no flashing your cannons, Cliff Jumper don't cloak or try to play pranks on the political leaders, if we have to appear friendly then lets try to do it well," Arcee explained.

"How come you're not giving Bumblebee and Blaster the lectures?" Cliff asked.

"Cause they're friendlier, as evidence dictates," Arcee, sighed gesturing to Bumblebee.

The yellow scout actually had some children sitting on his shoulders. Crowds circulated around the dock as both the Normandy and G1 docked. Shepard buttoned up her dress uniform as she, Anderson and the medical team took to the elevator down. She looked over to Nihlus, whom had a breathing mask over his mouth. The door opened and the humans looked up at Orion in shock. His layers of red and blue armour had been discarded onto the floor; he was showing his real self to the humans and would do so to the rest of the galaxy as well. Orion's protoform stage was still imposing, but a number of gears and cogs were exposed and unprotected. His face still had the appearance of a helmet, but Shepard could see actual emotion in glowing red eyes. He was understandably nervous.

"Are we ready captain, commander?" Orion asked.

"Yes, lets go," Anderson said.

The cargo bay doors opened and flashes illuminated Orion as he walked alongside Shepard and Anderson. News teams from across the galaxy looked at the two ships and the life forms that emerged from them. People across the galaxy gasped as humans walked alongside giant machines. Orion Pax raised his hands and walked into the crowd, showing them he was not armed. It was in that moment that Orion chose to change his identification code; to adopt a new name the people of this galaxy would know him as. A name that in the Cybertronian language translated as 'faith' or 'hope', a name that Orion felt was perfect for the occasion. He knelt in front of the camera crews, causing them to shuffle back a bit.

"People of the Citadel, every member of the galactic community, I am the captain of the Autobot exploration vessel G1, I assure you we only want peace between our civilisations, my name is Optimus!"

Asari Councillor Tevos deactivated the holographic display of the newly dubbed Optimus Pax's first contact. She squeezed her hands together in both anger and fear. It was a sight that confused both Valern and Sparatus, she was usually more level headed than that. Sparatus looked over the reports sent by Anderson and Udina, the former painted a more optimistic picture, apparently it was the truth but there was no absolute way to know that.

"A species still consumed by war with itself, I thought we had seen an end of such conflicts," Valern sighed.

"If it is the truth, so far Udina has offered wild speculation, that these machines are sleeper agents, that would require deep preparation from the Geth as well as an ability to deceive beyond simple military ambushes," Sparatus explained.

"Which would imply a level of ruthlessness they don't have, they're still bound by logic," Valern nodded.

"He also mentioned Saren, where was Saren during the Geth attack?" Tevos asked, speaking for the first time since the meeting began.

"Investigating corporate corruption in Noveria," Sparatus said.

"And how reliable a witness is this 'Optimus' that and the testimony of a traumatised dockworker is hardly proof," Valern said.

"The Geth attack is a matter of some concern, if it is the beginning of an attack on us then we must prepare, we can not allow this 'first contact' to distract us from the real issue."

"I agree Tevos, if the Autobots are truly allies then we must find a way to gain their trust and loyalty, they have power that we may need against the Geth. But at the same time we can not allow ourselves to get involved in their war, if these 'Decepticons' truly do exist," Sparatus explained.

"You are missing the point Sparatus, we have limited options, Optimus has put the issue in the hands of the people, they have been seen, human media is already conveying them to be heroes. Our own people have also seen them, how wondrous and terrifying they can be, Optimus deliberately cast aside protocol and put himself to the people so that they could welcome him, not us, he's winning their trust so that no matter what decision we make to protect our interests we will come out the bad guys," Tevos explained.

"Are you all right? You seem particularly nervous Tevos," Valern noted.

Tevos got off her seat and rubbed the sweat from her brow.

"I am all right, perhaps we should take a recess for now, wait for the inquiry into Saren's actions to begin and coordinate the defences of our home world's, if the unlikely scenario of the Geth targeting our people comes true," she said.

Sparatus and Valern looked at one another, their eyes telling each other that they shared the suspicion of their fellow leader. Tevos retreated to her office and pushed on the communication terminal. The holographic image of an Asari appeared before her, her expression was cold, so cold that Tevos was glad she never became part of the council.

"Irissa, have you seen the news?" Tevos asked.

"The only galaxy has seen the news Tevos, I have reporters trying to squeeze down my throat for answers about whether the longest existing government of the Citadel council knew about the existence of these things. The collective have also contacted me, these things can jeopardise everything we've worked to create, they might reveal the truth," Irissa explained.

"So far they haven't shown outright hostility, they saved Eden Prime and have appeared to us unarmed," Tevos said.

"So what, we should be blindly truthful with them as well? Don't be naïve Tevos, even if there is truth to what they say its still damning, if the Decepticons come to Earth seeking out the Autobots then it will be the beginning of a war that will decimate the galactic community, that's the last thing we want and if they discover what we did, then we the Asari will earn the full unforgiving wrath of a tyrant consumed by his hatred of organics, do you want to see our people die because of what we did to advance our society, its bad enough that we broke the law we composed on the sharing of Prothean technology, but…"

"I know, I know Irissa, I will continue to keep project Zeta a secret!"

Next Chapter 6: Inquiries

* * *

The Council reveals that they already know more than they appear, Orion takes his first step in first contact and towards becoming the Autobot he was meant to be, renaming himself Optimus, but he's far from being the bot we all know and love yet. I based Optimus's protoform or 'naked' form on the Protoform Optimus Prime toy of the film universe.

Anyone want respect points, figure out what the song Blaster was singing. Its a favourite of mine from that band. Cade Yaegar also wasn't a random name I picked out either, he wont make future appearances and I wont introduce human characters from other series either, at least not in major roles.

Next time Optimus meets with the council as the charges against Saren are dropped. Shepard and her team, along with Arcee and Blaster join with C-Sec investigator Garrus Vakarian and Krogan mercenary Urdnot Wrex to find evidence against Saren, Bumblebee meanwhile finds a wounded Quarian and comes across his first experience of organic hostility as he races to reach a medic.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers or Mass Effect

This chapter ended up covering a lot less than I originally intended. Optimus's speeches with the council kind of drew me away from what I originally intended to cover in this chapter. But they were still vital components of the chapter, so I decided to keep the chapter as it is.

Nihlus's fate is revealed, Optimus begins integration into the Citadel and some revelations about the Autobots.

* * *

Transform Effect 1: Rise a Prime

Chapter 6: Inquiries

People across the Citadel were feeling wonder and fear over the new arrivals. Whilst the council species ultimately prepared their militaries, ambassadors and representatives of the different races began flocking to Optimus, intending to make a good first impression. The Raloi however didn't make an appearance, in fact Shepard was sceptical of their existence, as either Raloi didn't live on the Citadel, which considering even Batarians and Vorcha lived there was strange, or they never left their home planet, which seemed a more reasonable explanation. She walked with Anderson as part of the 'diplomatic escort'. A full regiment of C-Sec security agents followed behind each individual Autobot. Blaster, Bumblebee and Arcee were the only ones to follow Optimus. Ratchet insisted on seeing his patients to Huerta memorial hospital, which was where Nihlus had also been taken.

'Worst kind of wound for a Turian,' Shepard thought.

She was no doctor but she knew anatomy, Nihlus's spine had probably been severed by the Fallen's attack. His payback for Shepard shooting his eye.

"Optimus Pax, my name is Barla Von, if you're ever in need of an account or information just visit me at the bank," a wheezing, short Volus tried to give Optimus a business card.

"Nice work getting to a bank with our 'escort'," Arcee huffed.

"Hey Arcee, what did you think of the captain's decision?" Bumblee asked.

"Its bad enough he stripped away his armour, but allowing us to be escorted like this, we're the dominant force, we should be demanding access to their communication buoys so we can contact Ultra Magnus," she explained.

"It might work if I'm hooked up to it, but we don't need a temporary alliance, we need permanent allies especially with the state of Cybertron," Blaster said.

"I don't like how he's doing it, but at least he's taking responsibility," Arcee crossed her arms together as she walked.

"What do you mean?" Blaster asked.

"If he had become a Prime, if he had taken command from Rodimus, then none of this would have happened…we wouldn't have been alone," she lowered her head.

"Actually, I was wondering what you thought of the captain changing his name, Optimus is a pretty cool name right?" Bumblebee asked.

The C-Sec guards raised their eyebrows at the scout's nature, whilst Arcee slapped her forehead.

"Optimus Pax, Diana Allers, Alliance News, how do you find the Citadel so far?" the dark haired woman asked.

"It is beautiful to behold, but I fear for the council's ability to maintain peace," Optimus said.

As the words left the Autobot's mouth, the people around him gasped. Many of the council species members felt offended and even glared up at the robot. But as Optimus gave his reasons, the members of other species, Batarians, Volus and humans began to cast aside their assumptions.

"The council runs its government like a school club, species must fulfil requirements to join the council, they must earn the right to become members. Whilst that inspires drive, it is foolish in the fact that it sometimes antagonises different species and also, shouldn't this be considered? For the sake of peace, shouldn't all advanced species be part of the council?" Optimus asked, looking at the people around him before continuing, "If everyone was a part of the council, then everyone would have something to gain from the other species, a vote that effects the fates of all in the galaxy is much better if it is discussed and deliberated on by ten council members, if say six out of four have decided for a policy then it can truly be said that the majority vote won!"

"But wouldn't that sometimes lead to bullying amongst the species, or too many voices within the council to make a proper decision?" a Volus asked.

"There is already bullying in the council, or at least a form of isolation, together the three species of the Asari, the Turians and the Salarians have nothing to worry about but say a time comes when they must make a decision that effects one of those species, the species in question will want the best for their homeworld, but the other two may disagree and that species will suffer because of a majority vote, something less likely to happen if there are five or six members," Optimus explained.

"Eager change of subject: Who created you?" an Elcor asked.

Optimus looked at the alien and via the extra-net studied the Elcor. Many criticised them as being emotionless, but they simply conveyed emotions in a different way. Their ignorance was also understandable so Optimus remained calm, whilst Arcee struggled not to get involved. Blaster placed his hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

"Let Optimus handle this," he said.

"While I do not know the complete origin of our species, for like yours there are various interpretations, but for myself and my crew I can say this…we are not creations, we are born, we live, we learn, we fight and we die, give or take a few thousand years," Optimus explained.

"Sceptical response: I sincerely doubt you are truly alive," the Elcor said.

"Then I suppose I'll have to find a way to prove you wrong, but not today, I believe Captain Anderson has an important meeting to attend to with the council," Optimus said.

"You heard him, move aside," a Turian C-Sec captain said.

The human embassy had been cordoned off, so reporters were barred from entry. Arcee wasn't sad to see the crowd pushed back by the C-sec agents. There had been so many questions, some stupid like 'how do transformers mate?' She wanted to take all those ignorant reporters, hold them and gunpoint and make everything clear to them. They were Cybertronians not 'transformers'; they followed their own independent will and not a programming, they had souls and a better understanding of the soul then they ever could and the Protheans were just a band of vicious elitist war mongers that the galaxy was better off without. Arcee looked at her hand and saw how it was shaking.

'Primus, this isn't fair,' she thought.

"Are you okay Arcee?" Bumblebee asked.

"No Bee, I'm not, lets just drop it," she said.

Much to Optimus's understanding the meeting with the council wasn't to take place in the citadel tower. Even if he changed his form he knew he wouldn't fit in those small elevators and there was the expected fear the council had. They weren't yet ready to give a newly discovered species access to the heart of the citadel's political power. A hall near the human embassy had been repurposed into a makeshift embassy. Hologram pads had been placed on the wall facing the entrance and as if the entrants were walking into the council chambers itself they saw the leaders of the citadel. Live holograms of the council members stood side by side in front of Udina, the human ambassador. Optimus, Shepard and Anderson however focused on the giant holographic image beside the council, Saren Arterius, Spectre and the one Optimus knew he saw at Eden Prime.

"The Geth attack is a matter of some concern, but there's nothing to indicate that Saren was involved in anyway," Councillor Tevos said, appearing fair and diplomatic as always.

"I resent these accusations, the culprits are plain to see," Saren looked towards the Autobots.

"Really, then why should we bother helping the people the council abandoned?" Optimus asked.

"Yes, the council would have stepped in if the Geth attacked a Turian colony," Udina said.

"The Turians do not form colonies on the edge of Terminus space," Valern said.

"Humanity was well aware of the risks when they entered the Traverse!"

Optimus narrowed his eyes at the Asari councillor and stepped beside Udina. Whilst Udina stumbled back slightly, the C-Sec guards save for a Turian investigator aimed their guns at the Autobot captain.

"It matters not whether the attacks happened to a human colony on the edge or in the very heart of the Terminus systems, an ally was attacked, you have to step in!" the Autobot said fiercely.

"We do not have to do anything, you do not make demands of the council," Sparatus retorted.

"What we need is proof," Valern said.

"C-Sec turned up no evidence confirming Saren's involvement," said Tevos.

The Turian investigator pushed the button at his console, conveying his voice across the hall.

"We haven't been given the time to properly investigate Saren's involvement, there's more evidence against Saren than there is for him."

"I am on a mission of critical importance to council security, I have not had time to invade human colonies," Saren said.

"Then tell us what that mission of yours is," Anderson said.

"Ah Anderson, you always seem to be at the front whenever humanity makes accusations against me," the Turian seemed to chuckle at Anderson's presence.

"You still haven't answered the question, if a man wasn't afraid of the truth he would answer," Shepard retorted.

"And you must be Anderson's protégé, I read the reports concerning Eden Prime, the fact that my friend Nihlus was wounded under your command, that you allowed these things to enter your own ship. Its clear to me that your species isn't ready to join the council, and you are not ready to join the spectres!"

"HE HAS NO RIGHT TO SAY THAT! THAT'S NOT HIS DECISION!" Udina yelled.

Optimus widened his eyes as Saren's statement sunk in. He looked to the council as they calmed Udina's anger. The Autobot's hands shook into fists and his vision blurred to static.

_He slammed his hammer continually into the face of his opponent. Never stopping the assault, even as the bot begged, gripping at his chest plate. He kicked him back down and resumed beating. The screams of the crowd only grew louder and more ecstatic as the victim's parts and oil gushed over the floor. He roared before stabbing the tipe of the handle through the broken bot's spark. His eyes darted to the balcony above him, where the cloaked council of Primes looked down on him. He roared in absolute fury._

"YOU GAVE FILES ABOUT THE ATTACK TO THE MAN ACCUSED OF LEADING IT!" Optimus yelled, stomping his foot on the ground.

The council leaders, even the Autobots were taken aback by Optimus's fury.

"IT IS THE PINNACLE OF STUPIDITY!" he roared.

Saren huffed, keeping his arms crossed. Optimus was no threat to him on the Citadel and his anger only gave the ignorant masses more ammunition.

"At this time the council has found insufficient evidence to revoke Saren's spectre status, this hearing is over," Tevos said.

"I'm glad to see justice was served, if you ever require my help to rid you of these machines, do not hesitate to contact me," Saren looked smugly at the Autobots and then at Anderson and Shepard.

His expression was one that said 'I win again humans'. His holographic form faded and the council remained.

"Despite your outburst captain, I believe there are issues you can discuss with us, our people are afraid and our hope is that you can reduce those fears," Tevos explained.

Optimus looked to his men as the humans began to exit the hall. His unspoken order was for them to stick with Shepard, to help her in whatever way they could. He looked to the council; they were fools in his eyes. But they were the rulers the galaxy had, so he would have to talk to them. Putting his hands behind his back at an 'at ease' position, Optimus address the council in his most diplomatic tone.

"I am at the council's service!"

* * *

Udina shook his head as the group walked out of the embassy. Blaster and Arcee followed close behind, Bumblebee on the other hand had disappeared. Arcee forgot about the scout and focused on the humans.

"It was a mistake to bring you into that hearing captain, you and Saren have too much history," the ambassador sighed.

"History? What history?" Blaster asked.

Arcee slammed her elbow into his chest.

"We need to deal with Saren by ourselves, evidence of his involvement with the Geth exists beyond Optimus's witness testimony we just have to find it," Shepard said.

"C-Sec didn't find anything, although I suppose that Turian might know something," Blaster suggested.

This time Arcee didn't hit him and Shepard nodded in agreement. The Turian seemed to be adamant in his opposition of the council's decision and adamant about Saren's guilt.

"Maybe he knows something," Shepard said.

"I have a contact in C-Sec who might be able to help you," Udina muttered.

"Forget it, I won't waste my time with Harkin," Anderson said.

"You wont have to, I don't want the council throwing aside any evidence we gain because of your involvement."

"I'll handle this captain, you want me to ask Harkin right? That drunk loser, have we stopped making deals for him to stay with C-Sec?" Shepard asked.

"He's been suspended, probably getting drunk in Chora's Den, a gentleman's club in the wards," Anderson explained.

"He probably knows whose investigating Saren, I'll have a talk with him sir, I'd like to bring Arcee and Blaster along, they're both small in comparison to the other Autobots so they might not draw as much attention," Shepard explained.

"Do whatever you have to Shepard, Udina and I will be at our embassy here on the presidium," Anderson said as he and Udina began walking back to the Presidium.

Shepard activated her Omni-tool and sent messages to Kaidan and Ashley. She knew she would need their help if, as she suspected Chora's den had a criminal gang running it. Arcee and Blaster both followed her lead and transformed into Cybertronian hover cars. Shepard smiled as she climbed into Arcee's car form, the seats were uncomfortable but she wasn't hoping them to be. Arcee wasn't the soldier you wanted to comfort you, but the soldier to watch your back and follow orders. Optimus gave her an order and she was going to follow it even though she didn't like it. That was the kind of command Shepard respected.

"Arcee, I notice you and Optimus don't seem to get on, what's the story behind that?" Shepard asked.

"Optimus used to be called Orion Pax, before I was born he was a clerk at Iacon's hall of records," Arcee said.

"A librarian basically, hard to believe with his fighting skills," Shepard shrugged.

"I've always had difficulty accepting that too, but it's not really my place to question unless I'm asked. A few years into the Prothean invasion, the hall of records was attacked, Optimus, then Orion rallied the civilians to fight back. But all the glory was given to Rodimus, whom was named a Prime for saving the city," the soldier explained.

"What are Primes exactly?"

"Hold on, Blaster you've gone straight past the meeting point," Arcee said.

"Really?" the red hover car turned around, cutting up several other cars.

"Have you guys studied driving rules, you need to slow down too Arcee," Shepard said.

"Really? But my vehicle form can go up to two hundred and fifty miles, why put the option of going over the legal speed limits?"

"You know I always wondered that myself," Shepard muttered.

Blaster landed by a platform on the wards, where Kaidan and Ashley waited. They looked at the car curiously before climbing into the driver side. Ashley and Kaidan were both wearing their armour, as per Shepard's instructions.

"I can't believe the council ignored all the evidence on Saren," Ashley said.

"Saren's their top agent, it makes sense that they would believe his story over ours," Kaidan sighed.

"So we're just going to sit back as this smug Turian gets away with his Geth army?"

"Its politics chief."

"I hate politics!"

"Motion seconded, politics shut my radio show down," Blaster said.

"You were a radio broadcaster?" Kaidan asked.

"Youngest and most popular presenter on Teletraan 1 before I started ignoring the censorship regulations, when I started reporting about the initial Decepticon rebellion I was finally shut down," Blaster sighed.

"Your government sounds as bad as the council," Shepard said.

"They were long dead by the time I was born…back to your original question Shepard, Primes are the leaders of Cybertron. The Fallen was once a Prime, but he betrayed his brothers and was exiled, over the cycles the Primes began to fall one by one, so much so that the Prime lineage was forgotten and thus the name Prime was adopted as a title. Before the Prothean invasion the council of Primes were our leaders, they implemented a caste system that demanded that all Cybertronians fulfill a set purpose, as you can imagine eventually people started speaking up against it. People wanted the freedom to do what they wanted, to follow ideals that the Primes didn't agree with. My problem with Optimus stemmed from him refusing to become a Prime, he could have changed everything, he could've led us to so many victories against Megatron, he could have bought an entire army here and we wouldn't have been forced to tread carefully like we are now. So many of my friends would have still been alive, including my teacher Cup," Arcee explained.

"Whose Cup?" Kaidan asked.

"He was an Autobot who refused to side with Rodimus when the Decepticons arrived. Cup gave us time to get away, probably with his life," Blaster said.

"So she lost a teacher and a friend, she's keeping her cool," Ashley said with a hint of admiration.

"Arcee's a good soldier, Cup taught her how to handle grief and she took those lesson to spark, even though it was a part of her spark she had lost," Blaster sighed.

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked.

"On Cybertron, offspring belong to everyone, before coming here we had no words for father or mother, the concept was foreign and still is. But spiritually speaking…Cup and my mother joined sparks, resulting in the creation of a new spark which eventually became a Protoform…me," Arcee said.

"You mean, Cup was your father?" Ashley asked.

"By organic standards yes," the pink and white bot huffed.

The rest of the drive to Chora's Den was dominated by an awkward silence. To the organics and gradually to Arcee herself, the meaning of Cup's death became clear and the circumstances. Blaster put himself in the shoes of an organic, and of Arcee herself. He could only think that Optimus had left her father to die.

* * *

Within the sturdy halls of his 'prison' Optimus approached politics the opposite way to the council. He was honest, telling them everything about his people. It was an extensive knowledge and a wondrous story. His built in hologram emitter broadcasted Cybertron as it was before the Protheans arrive. The council and the new witness to the session looked at the metropolis of Iacon in amazement. Liara T'Soni never thought that her recent discoveries would only days later reveal themselves to the grand public. Optimus recognised the wonder on Liara's face. Even as a hologram her love of history was clear. It was the same love Optimus had as Orion, looking at the history of his planet in his free time. For Liara her love for history had been apparent since she was a toddler digging in the grass for lost treasures. Her mother had only deepened that love by buying her history books, but her approval of Liara's path had gone unspoken through Liara's tenure at university.

"What kind of religious beliefs and culture did you have?" was the first thing Liara asked him.

He told them of the promise and hope of the Autobots. It had been born from the hopes of Primus, whom to many was apparently the first sentient being on Cybertron. His hope was that all beings capable of free will would come to understand and accept one another. Privately, Optimus believed that it would be the ideal political and societal structure. For all species to be of one government. One government built upon mutual interest and understanding in which the freedoms of all sentient species were preserved. That wasn't his answer however to Valern's question concerning Cybertron's political structure. He told them of the caste system the Primes enforced on the planet and how it led to the eventual breakdown of their authority in favour of people whom inspired the masses. Megatron, Sentinel and Rodimus Prime and Ultra Magnus became the defacto leaders when the council of Primes was decimated in the Protheans last attack.

"Sentinel however disappeared with the Arc, Ultra Magnus is in deep space overseeing operations against the Decepticons and Rodimus has joined with Megatron. Which is why I beg of you, do not make the mistake the Protheans did, do not condemn us and yourself to destruction," Optimus explained.

He showed them a sight that threw aside everything Liara thought she knew about the Protheans. Everything she had read about the Protheans had conveyed them as an advanced empire that had uplifted hundreds of worlds. The holographic images that Optimsu showed revealed the savagery and hatred the Protheans were capable of. Cybertron, once a planet filled with beautiful metropolis's was turned into a crumbling war zone. Prothean fighters bombed the cities and incubation chambers of Cybertronian offspring. Hope came only for Cybertron only from a being of equal savagery. On top of the images of Megatron's forces driving away the Protheans, Optimus played the recordings he discovered before going through the relay and what he found on the beacon.

"The data is damaged but the message is clear, whilst the Protheans fought my people, something else of greater and more terrifying power destroyed them. But ask yourselves, if the Protheans had won how long would their rule have lasted anyway?" Optimus bought the question forward and only Liara truly thought.

"The history of many worlds is dominated by moments in which unforgiving, tyrannical rules were bought down by idealistic ones," she said.

"Exactly, which is why I believe even if somehow the Protheans had prevailed they would have destroyed themselves," Optimus said.

"Technically you destroyed them," Sparatus said.

"No, Megatron only drove them away, hundreds of thousands of ships managed to go through the relay before they damaged it. Our world, the Protheans…they destroyed Cybertron, now we live as nomads with no planet to call our home, we are what Volus would call clan less. The Decepticons wish to take from you, and while I cant speak for Ultra Magnus's personality I can tell you he will not tolerate the Decepticons attacking your worlds. Grant me access to your communication network and I will call upon Ultra Magnus and his forces to help bolster your own," Optimus explained.

"What guarantee do we have that this Ultra Magnus will not simply bully us into giving up our resources?" Valern asked.

"Yes, why trade one tyrant for another, why trust your word?" Tevos narrowed her eyes at Optimus.

"Ultra Magnus seeks to stop Megatron's enslavement of other races," he said.

"I believe that Optimus is telling the truth," Liara said.

"Dr T'Soni, politics is our concern, leave interactions with the AI's to us," Tevos said.

Liara raised her hand to protest, but her holographic form disappeared. Optimus sighed, for the young Asari had interesting points. He looked upon the council members, despite his revelations they were still stung but their prior ignorance and fear. But no matter how long it took Optimus planned to stay and make it clear to the council that they were there, that they wanted peace.

* * *

C-Sec officer Chellik growled as he and his men searched the Presidium commons. Executor Pallin had been adamant in his orders, watch the transformers. Chellik and his men saw the yellow robot sneaking away from their human allies and towards the garage for the human embassy. His hope of catching a robot in the act of sabotage was dashed when he saw no robot in the garage. There were plenty of hover cars parked but no robots. The Turian sighed before turning to his men.

"Lets get back to their 'embassy' people," he said.

Bumblebee chuckled as the C-Sec agents walked away from him. He wasn't a scout for nothing, and there was a reason Cybertronians were called 'robots in disguise' Transforming was a vital part of Cybertronian physiology, so much so that if ever the race had to infiltrate a primitive world they could transform into their vehicles. A bright yellow hover car flying away from the embassies would bother no one on the Presidium.

'I'm a scout, so I'd better start scouting,' Bumblebee thought.

Bumblebee came across a different kind of life form every time he parked. In the commons he found people walking the streets, the news of new life forms negotiating on the station was nothing to worry about to them. They went about their daily businesses, discussing bands, the state of the economy, movies and other pointless things. The issue of the Geth attack on Eden Prime never came up. Though Bumblebee understood, he was born on the day the Protheans invaded. The facility that housed his incubation chamber was one of the lucky few to be evacuated. Even though he grew up in war Bumblebee would have given anything in his possession to live life in ignorance of danger.

'But you've got to be cautious Bumblebee, or someone could die,' he reminded himself every nanosecond of everyday.

He was broken out of his thoughts by the touch of two organics. An Asari wrapped her arms around the neck of a teenage human and pushed him against the hood of Bumblebee's car form. The scout gagged as the pair began massaging one another's mouths.

'What are they doing? And why are they doing it on me?' he wondered.

They were both making weird, unnecessary moaning sounds. Bumblebee, despite his disgust of their actions suddenly felt very awkward. Then he recalled the lessons of the Extra-net, that organics bonded through some kind of physical contact.

'Wait a minute, is this what they call mating? YUCK!'

"You two should be ashamed of yourselves," Bumblebee said, causing the lovers to scream as they rolled off of his hood.

He revved his engine angrily before driving off.

"Yuck, yuck, yuck, Ratchet!"

"Bumblebee why are you using this frequency I'm busy," Ratchet said.

"I'm sorry Ratchet but I really need your help, I think some organics mated on top of me, I need disinfectant right now," the scout frantically explained.

"Bumblebee, the organics would not have mated in a public place. They show physical affection through mouth-to-mouth contact and other forms of physical touch," Ratchet explained.

"So they haven't been mating on me?"

"No Bumblebee, they haven't been mating on you, now if you excuse me I have work to do," Ratchet cut the line and returned to his medical duties.

He and his fellow minicons were working with the doctors at Huerta memorial hospital. C-Sec security was tight, but not suffocating. Once they saw the progress Ratchet made they also saw the benefits of letting him have free reign. Ratchet was astonished by the primitive methods of healthcare they were using. Though it was understandable by the standards of organic health.

"Have you considered the following elements in the treatment of this man's condition?" he asked one doctor.

"Um no…wait, this actually makes sense," the doctor looked at the protein formulas Ratchet had downloaded to his Omni-tool.

"Excuse me, what are those machines doing?" a nurse asked.

"My minicons are building simple prosthetics for your amputee patients, because what you're giving them now is a joke," Ratchet said.

The doctors glared at Ratchet, causing him to huff. He expected the organics to be a little more grateful, but they were just as stupid as the patients Ratchet treated on Cybertron. Dr Chakwas walked through the crowds of doctors, watching as Red Alert and the minicons gently hefted patients onto bed with no problems.

"Stop, those hoists will make your patients joints worse, let me get him onto the bed with my anti-gravity generator," Ratchet formed what looked like a magnet on his hand and levitated Nihlus onto a medical bed.

"What can you tell us about what happened to him doctor?" the surgeon asked as Chakwas approached.

"Severe spinal damage from a stab wound," Ratchet and Chakwas said.

"I'm sorry don't you want the best possible care for this man?" Ratchet asked.

"The best possible care can come from someone better suited to treating organics, which is me right now," Chakwas said.

"Well by all means tell me how you intend to fix his broken spine!"

"Severed spine, no matter of physical therapy will help Nihlus walk again, surgery perhaps to place an implant to replace the damaged part of his spine might suffice but its extremely risky," Chakwas explained.

"He's a soldier, he knows risks!"

"I don't know whether medical ethics exists on your planet but here we do not force patients into high risk medical procedures we wait until we have consent."

"Don't compare Cybertronian ethics to organic ethics," Ratchet huffed, turning away from the doctors before they took Nihlus into the wards.

He looked at the view the hospital offered of the Presidium.

'At least these organics stay true to their beliefs,' Rachet lowered his head and sighed.

* * *

After picking up her equipment, Shepard, Ashley and Kaidan walked to Chora's Den. It was a gentleman's club under the management of Fist, a crime boss with ties to the shadow broker. Blaster had made upgrades to the groups Omni-tools, giving them the frequency for Autobot communications. Ignoring the radio broadcaster's curiosity regarding why Chora's Den wasn't called Fist's den, Shepard looked through the crowds of partygoers towards her target. He had that look of a man who had stopped caring long ago, his blue and black C-Sec uniform was dishevelled and what appeared to be his third bottle rested by his hand.

"That's him, Harkin," Shepard said.

"Gambling, drugs, roughing up suspects, Prowl would have a field day arresting this guy," Blaster chuckled.

"Whose Prowl?" Kaidan asked.

"Autobot law enforcement officer, used to act as something of an internal affairs department before he fully committed to Rodimus's cause," Arcee explained.

"How many Autobots joined Rodimus?" Ashley asked.

"A full contingent of troopers though they'll probably report to Megatron's command, the ones likely to follow Rodimus into battle are Prowl, frontline combat and demolition specialist Warpath and flight officer Jetfire, he used to be with the Decepticons," Blaster explained.

"Now they're traitors who we're to shoot on sight," Arcee said.

"Come on Arcee, it may be possible to convince them to stop, Cup saw sense!"

Shepard ignored the argument between the Autobots and stepped up to Harkin.

"You Harkin?" she asked.

"Who wants to know, unless you're offering a dance or a drink lady I'm not interested," Harkin said.

"Commander Shepard of the Normandy, someone who'll beat your ass to the ground if you make a sexist comment like that again, and I doubt your former colleagues at C-Sec will care enough to arrest me," Shepard explained, slamming her hand down on the table.

"I could have been a marine," Harkin huffed. "Instead I joined Citadel security, biggest mistake of my life, the Normandy is Anderson's ship right?" Shepard nodded and Harkin laughed. "I get what this is about, Anderson's still after Saren isn't he and he thinks we've got something on him? Tell me did he tell you his big secret?" Shepard shook her head and without being asked Harkin revealed his secrets, "You see Anderson used to be a spectre, bet you didn't know that, Saren was the one evaluating him when he screwed up, ruined the mission and got a ton of people killed."

"I don't care about that," Shepard said. "Tell me what C-Sec knows about Saren, who was investigating him?" she asked.

"Turian named Garrus Vakarian, the Executor told him to back off but the damn hot head is still at it, last I heard he was going to Dr Michel's clinic on the other side of the district, something about following a lead," Harkin explained.

"Thanks, go back to wasting your life again if you want Harkin," Shepard dismissively turned away from the drunkard.

"Pretty harsh commander," Blaster said.

"Not really, Harkin's a loser, he's only going to end up on one side of the law."

Shepard stopped and looked towards the entrance to Fist's office. There were a few guards posted there, all of them facing one Krogan in red armour. Unlike the other Krogran facing him he had older features and a scar over his forehead, just touching his eye and chin. He stood with a confidence befitting a veteran warrior, but one whom had led people before.

"Fist told us to take you down if you turned again," the younger Krogan approached him fiercely, but Shepard could see the hint of respect and fear in his eyes.

Some part of that younger Krogan knew that if he faced the older Krogan he and his men would die. That's the feeling Shepard got, for even under threat the older Krogan made no move to defend himself. He was that confident that the young one wouldn't attack, and attack he didn't.

"What's he waiting for, I'm standing right here, tell Fist this is his last chance," the old Krogan said.

"He's not coming out Wrex, end of story."

"This story's far from over," Wrex said before he walked away, "Get out of my way human I have no quarrel with you!"

Shepard moved out of the mercenary's way. It was clear he was after Fist but he was no hit man. Fist was go between for the Shadow Broker, the biggest and most mysterious information broker in the galaxy. Having existed as long as the council had, the broker had hundreds of agents and never showed his or her face. Wrex wasn't afraid to go after Fist, so Fist must have done something to damage his respect and standing with the criminal community and the broker.

"What do you think that's about?" Kaidan asked.

"Who knows, best not get in the middle of it," Ashley said, summing up Shepard's thoughts exactly.

If they needed to get involved with it then they would.

'Garrus Vakarian,' Shepard associated the name with the face of the Turian whom spoke against Saren.

* * *

Bumblebee hummed to himself as he drove across the wards of the citadel. He marvelled at the lights of the casino district, the club goers exiting the hotspots and the diverse species walking along the streets. A part of him imagined that the citadel was what Cybertron was like before core of the planet shutdown, forcing the populace to search the stars for energon. The young scout landed in an alleyway and began putting together the mental map he had drawn of the citadel. It was so vast that he still had sixty percent left of it to explore. But it wasn't just the people enjoying peace that distracted him; the strange bug like creatures bothered him. The citadel was maintained by the keepers, biomechanical beings that weren't like the VI interfaces. No one knew where they had come from.

'They seem to be empty, there's nothing inside them at all, no spark or emotion,' the scout noted.

He sighed at just how complicated the situation was. The council species were in actually fact as ignorant as they were. But they weren't at all interested in finding out what the keepers were, or what the citadel was meant for. He bought up a screen on his HUD, linking with the extranet and the live feed of the Cybertronian embassy. C-Sec was allowing select news networks into the proceedings. Optimus stood before the holograms of the council delivering a speech that seemed like it had been cycles in the making.

"To be a political leader is to claim to speak for your whole species. That is not something I can do, in fact I believe it is not something the council can do either. You ask me for guarantees but I cannot give them, because like your people mine are individuals and react in differing ways. I can guarantee that Megatron's Decepticons will attack you, but I cannot guarantee how my fellow Autobots will react, whether they will be open to the prospect of our cultures living in peace. They will have difficulty adjusting to interacting with organics, to your customs, your political structure and your ways, many of which will seem strange to them as our ways will be strange to you. I am a simple soldier, no great politician or scientist."

"I can only inform you so that you can make the right decision for all. I believe that you know in your hearts what that decision is. Yes we are at war, a war that has been waged for centuries, a war we are losing badly. We are desperate, not just to win but to rebuild our home world or if at all possible make a new home world. But to do that we need resources, energy and materials. If a race were to reach out to us, to become our ally then out of honour Ultra Magnus would send soldiers to aid them no matter what stands in their way!"

Optimus looked to Udina, for his speech was a promise as well. His eyes then looked to the council in an unspoken display of his disapproval of their lack of action.

"We would provide machines and advancements in medical fields, transportation, if given resources we could build a space bridge network miles more efficient and reliable than the mass relays. Our space ships would allow you to advance beyond the mapped regions of space, to expand, to grow and accomplish wonders. We will learn from you, you will have not only saved our species but helped us to advance as well. So many cultures have been defined by their first meetings, many of them have began with conflict, ask yourselves is peace not a better alternative to war?"

Ratchet watched the display from his own link to the extranet. He nervously rubbed his wrists as he watched his friend predict the possible response of their people. Their predicament and what they could give people for pulling them out of that predicament. Nihlus opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was a vid screen displaying Optimus's meeting with the council. Dr Michel sat at her desk, curiously watching a moment that would become history. Her curiosity was broken as her door opened. Men rushed into her clinic, the leader put a gun to her head. Gunshots echoed through the streets. Shepard and her crew ran into Dr Michel's clinic with their weapons drawn. The commander widened her eyes, Garrus stood with the barrel of his pistol smoking, Fist's men were dead and Optimus's speech continued to play.

"Should we not move towards the future helping one another, teaching one another? But I myself cannot guarantee that it will be a peaceful transition. Contrary to your initial beliefs, we are an emotional people whom stand by their ideals. We will not tolerate the enslavement of others," Optimus looked at the Batarians in the hall. "But we all have to change, we have to rely on you and you have to trust us. I believe our people can live in peace, which is why I make this promise!"

The faces of the council members distorted in surprise as Optimus kneeled.

"I swear, whatever decision is made, I will fight to protect this galaxy from any threat, whether it be Cybertronian in origin, or whether it is something else entirely," Optimus said darkly.

"Big bot, what did you find on that beacon?" Bumblebee wondered.

"So I beg of the council, please welcome my people, please help us and we will in turn help you!"

An uncertain silence was the only answer to Optimus's speech. He had left the council and the people of the galaxy whom had watched the speech with much to think on. Bumblebee remained silent as a trio of armed men walked by him. One was a definite Turian, and the other two were Salarians in full armour.

"You heard about the new arrivals, a machine race or something," one of the Salarians said.

"You mean the Geth attack on Eden Prime?" asked the other.

"No, those transforming machines, apparently they're truly sentient, the Quarian fleet has been divided about it."

"Well they are experts in AI's, I'd suppose they of all people would know whether those things are alive."

'Primus are all organics ignorant over the nature of a soul?' Bumblebee wondered.

He watched the three aliens continue their business. They seemed to be impatiently waiting for someone. When the two Salarian's prepared their pistols Bumblebee began to grow uneasy. He looked to the edge of the alleyway, where a woman in a hood stood. She seemed to be debating something with herself. In the end her naïve desperation won out and she walked into the alleyway. That's when Bumblebee saw that she was a Quarian, the race that tried to commit genocide.

"Where is Fist? Where is the shadow broker?" she asked.

If Bumblebee wasn't in vehicle mode he would have raised his head in confusion. It was common knowledge on the extra-net that the shadow broker never revealed himself, always operating through agents. But the Quarian seemed particularly desperate for some reason.

"Did you bring it?" the Turian asked, moving on the Quarian like a predator examining prey.

"Where is Fist?" the Quarian asked.

"He'll be here," the Turian said.

He touched the side of her helmet and moved her hand down to her waist. The Quarian instantly slapped his arm aside and stepped back.

"Forget it, the deals off," she said, reaching for the pouch on her belt.

The Turian nodded to his two allies and they full revealed their guns. But the Quarian was prepared, she threw a concussive grenade from her pouch, throwing her would be assassins back. The Turian however recovered quicker than the Salarians, pulling out his rifle.

'Keeping a low profile is overrated,' Bumblebee thought as he transformed.

He jumped over the Turian and landed in front of the Quarian. She stopped, her eyes wide in horror underneath her helmet. Bumblebee wrapped his arms around her, using his own body to cushion her from the assassin's bullets. When the Turian's gun overheated Bumblebee slid out his own rifle. With an instinct that had been honed since he was old enough to walk, Bumblebee shot first, cutting the three assassins down.

"Primus that was close, are you okay?" he asked, looking down at the Quarian.

The Quarian's eyes were as wide as saucers. Bumblebee smiled, but his lips dropped as the Quarian screamed.

"KEELAH!" she yelled, throwing a grenade into Bumblebee's face.

The grenade didn't damage his armour, but it still hurt in more ways than one. He only wanted to help her, he kept on saying that but the girl ran. She fell to the floor and hysterically crawled away from Bumblebee.

"Stop please, I'm not going to hurt you," Bumblebee said.

The Quarian stood up and without thinking threw another grenade. Bumblebee crossed his arms together, shielding himself from the blast.

"All right, hopefully you're out of grenades now…" Bumblebee lowered his arms and widened his eyes.

The shockwave of the explosion had thrown the Quarian back. She must have had a gunshot wound, because the force of the landing had opened her stitches. Bumblebee analysed her suit, it hadn't been breached but blood was staining it from the inside.

"Primus no, no, no, calm down, get her to a medic Bee," Bumblebee imagined Optimus at his side, goading him on and ordering him to get into gear.

He gently grabbed the Quarian and transformed to vehicle mode, making it so that she would lie across the passenger seats. After wrapping the seat belts around her, Bumblebee accelerated out of the alleyway. He activated his radio, contacting Ratchet.

"RATCHET!" the scout yelled.

"Bumblebee so help me if this is another…"

"Shut up and listen Ratchet, I need a medical team ready to treat a Quarian right away, she's bleeding, I can feel it staining the seats…MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!" Bumblebee overtook several cars before weaving between a pair of garbage trucks.

Ratchet looked over his computer; Bumblebee was in a particularly emotional state and his speed in vehicle mode had long gone past the limits the organics set.

"Bumblebee, slow your speed down to fifty miles or you might cause a further tear in the Quarian's wound, DOCTOR CHAKWAS!" Ratchet's voice boomed over the hospital.

"What's going on?" Chakwas asked the field medic.

"Tell these supposed doctors to get a room ready to treat a Quarian and if they refuse treatment tell them I was not making a request," Ratchet growled.

Chakwas didn't bother waiting for an explanation. She had accepted the fact that the Autobots were sentient and very emotional creatures. That though they were dangerous, they still sought to help others.

"I need a room decontaminated for Quarian treatment," she said to the Turian medical chief.

"A Quarian, we don't have time to treat their kind," he said.

"Forgetting the fact that this is not a request but a legal and obligation of all doctors, these directions have come straight from that Autobot over there," Chakwas pointed towards Ratchet and then looked the Turian in the eyes. "But he will be the least of your problems, if your patients, Turian, Human, Quarian or even Batarians don't receive the best care possible I will report you to a medical tribunal and will not rest until your reputation is in so much tatters that you wont even be able to get a job as a school nurse."

The Turian remained silent for a moment before turning to the nurse.

"Get a room prepped, we have an emergency admission," he said.

Chakwas sighed in relief and nodded to Ratchet.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Ratchet still wasn't sure about the organics, but he was pleased they had medical professionals like Karen Chakwas.

Next Chapter 7: The Quarian

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, next chapter we continue Shepard's investigation into Saren, meanwhile in space Ultra Magnus learns of Rodimus's betrayal and brings together the five members of the Lightning Strike Coalition. Some of you have been asking about them, next chapter we meet them :)


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers or Mass Effect

The story continues, more fan favourite characters are introduced and Optimus's negotiations with the council reach a crucial point as does Shepard's investigation

* * *

Transform Effect 1: Rise a Prime

Chapter 7: The Quarian

Though her conversation with Optimus had been cut short, Liara T'Soni was still able to enjoy the sight of the giant standing up to the council. She had read stories about the transformers and what they had done at Eden Prime. They had been declared warriors and heroes, doctors and entertainers and it seemed philosophy and politics could be added to the many qualities of their society. Optimus had painted a very bleak picture of his past and the Citadel's future if they rejected his people. For some it would insight fear and that fear would push the council into action. But for Liara it gave her hope that she could finish her research into the Protheans. She had been given the truth about the Protheans that they were not the advanced and civilised society she once believed them to be. Optimus has opened her eyes in more ways than one; he didn't lie about his people or try to paint a positive picture. All her life Liara had been told ideal interpretations of the Protheans from her lecturers. He simply painted a picture that showed his people, flaws and all. She continued to watch the self appointed representative of his people talk with the leaders of hers and guide the galaxy towards an uncertain future.

"Please describe the events that happened that led you to Eden Prime," Tevos said.

"Yes what exactly is your position within the Autobot's army?" Sparatus asked.

Optimus walked through the council holograms and gazed at the view the hall had of the lake. His optics scanned the ripples of the water and thought about what he was doing. He was creating ripples throughout the galaxy. The Quarians with their ignorance on machines were probably already warning their people of the new 'synthetic' race. Optimus didn't dislike the Quarians, or did he hate them. He just understood that they were ignorant. That if they didn't learn about the truth of a machine's evolution then it would destroy them. He turned his head and looked at the council, taking a deep breath as he prepared to deliver yet another speech.

"As I stated before the G1 is an exploration vessel, in conjunction with the G2 we travel from solar system to solar system, planet to planet, we comb meteors and debris fields for traces of Energon or the minerals necessary to create Energon. On planets we run surveys not just on the core of the planet but also on its very surface, on its creatures to determine whether the evolution of an advanced species is possible. Under Autobot military law we never harvest the planet of a world with intelligent life on it, or the potential for intelligent life. In our history we have only harvested two worlds and we still have no where near the amount of Energon needed to restore the spark of life that is our planet's core. My team was charged not just with discovering energon sources but finding artefacts both from the Protheans and from the time our ancestors roamed the stars," Optimus explained.

"What kind of artefacts?" Valern asked.

"That is information I can not share with you," Optimus narrowed his eyes slightly before continuing, "Sentinel Prime set an order before his disappearance that we must never use the mass relay network, 'we must not make the same mistake the Protheans did'."

"What mistake was that?" Tevos asked.

"Sentinel had reason to believe that the mass relay network was not the creation of the Protheans, that they had simply inherited it from another civilisation. He believed that the mass relays were under the control of another, that they should have been abandoned. Rodimus Prime however believed that they were a resource that couldn't be overlooked. He then disagreed with Ultra Magnus in how to properly settle the civil war. Whilst Magnus believes that Megatron's forces must be eradicated, Rodimus believed in joining with the Decepticons to work together. At the time I believed it was to come here and make peaceful first contact but considering the nature of Rodimus's defection I now have no doubt that he will take your resources by force," Optimus explained.

"What exactly was the nature of Rodimus's defection and why did you not stay?" Sparatus asked.

"He executed all those whom argued against defection."

The room fell silent as Optimus lowered his head, thinking about Cup and the sacrifice he had made. A part of him hoped otherwise but knew that more sacrifices would be made before things got better.

* * *

Deep within the wards of the citadel, Shepard continued her own struggle for her people. Whilst Kaidan, Ashley and the Autobots stood guard, Shepard and Garrus Vakarian stood by Dr Michel as she recounted the reason Fists men were shaking her down. It was also the reason Garrus had arrived to rescue her.

"They wanted to make sure I wouldn't tell Garrus about the Quarian," the doctor said.

"Dr Michel sent me a mail stating that there was a Quarian with information that could possibly link Saren to the Geth attack on Eden Prime. Not only would it absolve the Autobots of suspicion it would also be everything you needed to get Saren's spectre status revoked," Garrus explained.

"You were really convinced that Saren was a traitor," Shepard noted.

"I couldn't access any of Saren's files but I knew something was really going on. Call it instinct if you will, something about Saren rubbed me the wrong way, when I tried pushing to carry out a deeper and more intrusive investigation my superiors ordered me to back down. But I knew something was really going on, Saren is a traitor to the council and a disgrace to my people," the Turian's mandibles clicked in anger.

"How did you get involved with the Quarian?" Shepard asked the doctor.

She got off her chair, rubbing her hands nervously. Ashley and Kaidan had dragged the bodies from view but the adrenaline was still flowing through her.

"A few days ago a Quarian came to the clinic asking for help, she had taken a minor gunshot wound but was in need of antibiotics and patch work on her suit. I knew the other medical facilities had probably thrown her out…"

"Why would they deny her medical treatment?" Blaster asked from the doorway, causing Dr Michel to jump.

"What's your glitch Blaster?" Arcee grabbed her fellow Autobot's head and pulled him away from the door.

"I'm curious…I mean I'm no fan of the Quarians but they're still entitled to medical treatment," the communications officer said.

"Quarians typically live as nomads, scavenging and recycling materials, a lot of people see them as thieves," Ashley said.

"The accusations are baseless of course, but it doesn't stop companies from rejecting applications or shops refusing service," Shepard explained.

"I could tell that she was afraid, when I pushed she told me she had information about Saren. Knowing the wrong thing can get you killed, especially when it's about a spectre, she was alone on the citadel, no one was willing to help her and she needed a way out. So I put her in contact with Fist, he manages Chora's den, leads some of the gang element and is also an agent of the shadow broker," Dr Michel explained.

"Not anymore, now he takes orders from Saren and the broker isn't too happy about it," Garrus said.

"Fist betrayed the shadow broker? That's stupid even for him!"

"Excuse me, who is the shadow…"

Arcee suddenly slammed her fist into the top of Blaster's head.

"Big information broker, mysterious and dangerous to these people, actually use the extranet for something other than looking up music," she snarled.

Shepard slapped a palm to her face as Garrus and Michel looked at the Autobots in confusion. She then looked to Garrus and narrowed her eyes.

"It looks like its time we paid Fist a visit," she said.

"This is your show Shepard but I want Saren bought down as much as you. Fist has eyes everywhere in the wards, there is a good chance that he knows you're coming," Garrus explained.

"You aren't the only ones after Fist either, C-sec just picked up a Krogan mercenary after he made threats against Fist," Blaster said.

"Are you hacking C-Sec communication channels?" Garrus asked.

"Hacking is such a severe word, I'd prefer analysing their faults and don't worry, I'll tell the nice people at C-sec where they went wrong in their creation of 'secure channels'" Blaster waved his fingers around and grinned.

Garrus raised his eyebrows, uncertain of whether the Autobot was genuinely being humorous or if it was just an AI mimicking humour. AI's were abysmal when it came to humour, but the Autobots seemed to play pranks on one another and had unique personalities. Garrus was one of many whom saw anger, reasonable anger but still anger shown by Optimus. Though he was still not convinced that the Autobots were completely friendly he did believe they were more advanced than the average unshackled AI.

* * *

Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya believed that her journey would end. Her nightmare of disappointing her father and leaving him alone was about to come true. Trapped within the confines of the strange machine she recounted the events that led her to the Citadel. Her pilgrimage had started as any other Quarian's would, even the daughter of an admiral was never given special treatment. The transport ship, Honorata was to take Tali to Illium, a place in Asari space that Quarian's typically began their pilgrimages on. However the crew detected a Geth presence on an uncharted planet in the crescent nebula. Landing with a crewmember Keenah'Breizh, Tali found a Geth separated from its group. With Keenah's help they extracted its memory core and found a recording. The content was so damning that Tali knew it had to be turned over to the authorities.

But as per usual the Honorata faced trouble landing in Illium. Tali got her first taste of prejudice against her people. The officials deliberately delayed the landing. That in turn gave Saren's men on the planet time to learn of their actions with the Geth. The mercs set up an ambush, killing the Honorata's crew save for Keenah and Tali. Forced to stowaway on a transport to the Citadel, Tali persisted in her belief that they needed to get the information to the proper authorities. Only they had to take the information straight to the top, to the council itself. But when they arrived at the Citadel they were arrested and despite their pleas that they had information were told to leave within the next day. There were talks of some kind of attack on Eden Prime and rumours that Geth and another form of synthetic life was involved.

Upon finding out that they had to wait six months to see the council, Tali and Keenah decided to cut their losses and seek out shelter. But then the Turian mercenaries found them. Keenah took the worst hit from the chase. Cornered in an incinerator, Keenah gave into his wounds and Tali was ultimately alone. To both avenge Keenah's death and keep herself safe Tali set a trap at the incinerator. The mercenaries were obliterated by the flames, which acted as Keenah's funeral pyre. Seeking treatment for her injured arm, Tali came upon Dr Michel's free clinic. After treating her arm and listening to her story Dr Michel put her in contact with Fist. But once again Tali was faced with another failure, one that her father would have been so disappointed in.

* * *

Bumblebee widened his eyes as the Quarian's breathing became shallow. He transformed to robot mode, causing the people on the Presidium to scream as he landed in the lake. The Autobot scout looked at the bleeding Quarian and grit his teeth together.

"Ratchet, I'm too far away from the hospital, the Quarian wont make it," Bumblebee said.

"Bumblebee if you don't get here then the Quarian will die either way," Ratchet said.

"We need to do everything that we can right, if a member of the galactic community dies under our care then we'll be held responsible."

"They don't treat the Quarians that well, no ones going to cry over it," Ratchet sighed.

"What in the pit is wrong with these people? These Quarians, they are…they're a part of this galaxy too, so we need to do everything that we can right?" Bumblebee asked.

"I need to do everything I can Bee, I'm the doctor not you now get her to Huerta," Ratchet said.

Bumblebee looked at his chest, inside of it was his spark. Sparks were made of the same energy but each contained a unique personality. The sparks were not just energy, they were the life force that went into every Cybertronian. Bumblebee flashed back to the G1, how Ratchet had used his own spark energy to heal a human baby on the genetic level.

"Could the same thing apply to this?" the scout wondered.

"Bumblebee what are you doing?" Ratchet asked.

"The water on the Presidium is sterile right, no harmful bacteria inside it right?" Bumblebee asked.

"Bumblebee what are you going to do?"

"What boss bot is doing, showing them the light within our hearts," Bumblebee set Tali on the surface of the water and opened his spark chamber.

* * *

If there was one thing Shepard hated more than Thresher maws it was elevators. She'd developed this stigma of them. The rides were long, boring, claustrophobic and awkward at the worst of times. Then there was the music, which was meant to calm but only ended up making the journey more annoying. The two Autobots waited at the entrance to C-Sec academy. Though it was called an academy it acted more like a headquarters for C-Sec officers on the Presidium and its surrounding wards. Garrus took the lead, being more familiar with the facility.

"Hey Garrus," a Turian by the elevator called the detective over.

"What is it Chellick?" Garrus asked.

"Is that Commander Shepard with you?"

"It is, Chellick are we still holding onto that Krogan Mercenary, the one who threatened Fist?"

"Banes was just about to let him go, hey Commander Shepard where are your Autorobot friends?" Chellick asked.

"They're called Autobots and I'm not really at liberty to discuss that," Shepard said.

"Well one of them has been towed for illegal parking!"

Ashley and Kaidan exchanged confused looks. Even Shepard wondered how a massive robot could be towed in for illegal parking. Then she realised that the Autobot in question had probably been ordered to play nice with the authorities if they ever did something wrong.

"Kaidan, Ashley, go and collect whoever's been towed, put the fine on my tab," Shepard sighed.

"Yes ma'am," Ashley said.

The two soldiers followed Chellick towards the impound yard. There a multitude of cars were waiting. They immediately noticed an out of place red hover car, with buffalo horns on the hood.

"Cliff Jumper," Kaidan shook his head.

"Alenko, Williams, you guys wouldn't be willing to do a bot a favour would you? I was minding my own business doing reconnaissance when all of a sudden this truck wraps a cable around me and drags me away. I would have given them the horns if not for Optimus ordering me not to," Cliff Jumper explained.

"Your form isn't exactly inconspicuous," Kaidan said.

"In fact it screams come and get me when you're in a chase, and nobody puts ornaments like that on their car anymore," Ashley motioned to the buffalo horns.

Cliff Jumper suddenly transformed, revealing a bulkier more heavily armoured form.

"I had to add a few pounds of armour but I'm actually liking it, so have you guys come to set me free?" he asked.

"Yeah, but you owe the commander a few thousand credits," Ashley said.

"I'll pay her back, as soon as I find out how a robot in disguise makes credits that is," Cliff sighed.

"You could start charging people for seeing how much of a glitch head you are," Blaster said over the radio.

"Its pretty pathetic Cliff," Arcee sighed.

Meanwhile, Garrus and Shepard walked towards the C-Sec interrogation room. Outside of it they saw the bulky, red armoured Krogan facing down the arresting C-Sec officer.

"Witnesses saw you making threats at Fist's bar, this is your only warning," the officer said.

"You should warn Fist, I will kill him," Urdnot Wrex spat, causing the officer to pull his head back.

"Do you want me to arrest you?"

"I want you to try," Wrex chuckled, turning away from the C-Sec officer and walking down the corridor.

He came to a halt near Shepard. But instead of barging into her analysed her face and armour.

"You're Shepard, commander Shepard right?" Wrex asked.

"You recognise me now?" Shepard asked.

"Ha, I just had a hard time believing the great survivor Shepard was…"

"A woman?" she crossed her arms together, waiting for the Urdnot to give his response.

"Hell, women are the most dangerous of any species, I just expected you to have red eyes and scars all over your face," Wrex huffed.

"You want Fist dead don't you?" Shepard asked.

"What gave me away?"

"He has information I need, I'm going after him," Shepard said.

"I see, well I hope you understand that nothing, not even C-Sec is going to stop me from killing Fist," Wrex said.

"He knows you're coming, you'll have a better chance of reaching him if we work together," Garrus said.

"I just want the information he has on the Quarian, what happens to Fist afterwards isn't my problem," Shepard explained.

Wrex hummed curiously before looking Shepard in the eyes.

"Fist made an enemy of the shadow broker, but the Quarian isn't going to be safe either, even if Fist hadn't betrayed the shadow broker," Wrex explained.

"What do you mean?" Garrus asked.

"The shadow broker claims to be an information broker but he's a lot more than that. He's a glorified crime boss, information is his religion…and information to use against a spectre is worth killing anyone for," Wrex said darkly.

"Then we'd best find out from Fist where the Quarian is, before Saren's men or the broker's men find her," Shepard motioned for Wrex to follow her.

"My people have a saying," Wrex smiled, offering Shepard his hand. "Find the enemy of your enemy and you will have found a friend," he said, shaking the commander's hand.

"We've got a similar saying in our culture!"

Wrex looked curiously at Shepard as she put her hand to her ear.

"In mine too Blaster, we say 'enemy of my enemy is my friend'," she said.

"Ours is more of a hope really, 'in our darkest hour the greatest of enemies unite,'" Arcee said.

"That's actually more along the lines of 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'" Garrus said.

"Why keep your enemies close, that just gives them space to stab you," Blaster said, causing the organics to shake their heads.

* * *

Far away from the Citadel, beyond any charted galaxy floated a ship that was gigantic by the standards of the Asari. Omega Supreme was one of the biggest ships in the Autobot fleet. Often described as being the size of a city, Omega was one of four ships left within the Autobot fleet that could go to war with any organic planet alone and win. The other two were Metroplex and Fortress, respectively commanded by Linq and Maximus. Omega Supreme however was under the command of the grand commander of the Autobot military forces. On the ship's bridge sat that commander, a bot respected and feared equally amongst the Autobots and Decepticons. He was a soldier dedicated to the defence of his people and a strict and disciplined commander.

The robot was a tall Autobot with the alternate form of a truck. His armour consisted of red colours on his chest with blue accents, a blue helmet and gauntlets. The bots white face and hands were exposed and he sat at his command chair with a straight posture. He demanded discipline from the people under his command and they responded without question. With Sentinel gone people considered there to be three possible leaders for the Autobots, Rodimus Prime, Megatron and Ultra Magnus.

"Grand Commander, we've picked up a communication, it was sent through Teletraan 1 sir," one of the Omega's communication officers said.

Ultra Magnus rose from his chair, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Play it," he commanded.

Without giving an explanation, the officer did as he was told. Cup's face, wrecked and leaking oil appeared as a hologram before the Autobots.

"I'm sending this message to any Autobots out there, Rodimus Prime has betrayed us, I repeat Rodimus Prime has joined with the Decepticons. The crew of the G2 has been massacred, only the survey crew of the G1 has survived. Orion Pax is carrying the matrix of leadership, he has entered the Prothean galaxy," Magnus widened his eyes as the message ceased.

He noticed the nervous expressions of his crew. They were an experienced crew and though Magnus never said it, he valued their lives deeply. He walked off his chair and turned to his second in command. Springer was a green and yellow armoured triple changer, capable of transforming into a jeep and helicopter. He had gained the ability to transform that many times from the experiments of the head scientist Wheeljack. The scientist in question worked in his lab. He had not always been a scientist though, thousands of years ago he had been a simple soldier. Though skilled he found his true calling in matters of intellect.

"Ah Ultra Magnus, good to see you, I've been working with one of my colleagues in the Q-nebula and he believes he's developed a weapon that can overpower Megatron's cannon," the lights on the side of Wheeljack's head glowed with every word he spoke.

A metallic plate had replaced his mouth and he had built alternate audio processors. His original vochal chords had been deliberately torn out so that the Combaticons couldn't torture him for information. It was a reflection of Wheeljack's dedication to the cause. But the grey armoured Autobot hadn't been the same since his time in a Decepticon prison camp. He had put more time into his work, even working with older scientists with outdated ideas. Younger Autobots called him a mad scientist and it showed in his inventions.

"I present to you," he hefted a large cannon off of his workbench. "The P.O.K.E. cannon, although the K.E. function doesn't necessarily work this scrapper can leave a ton of damage," Wheeljack explained.

"I'll be sure to test it later professor, but now is not the time for such things. There is a matter we must discuss…" a blue flash suddenly rushed past Ultra Magnus.

The new arrival crashed into the junk in Wheeljack's lab. He quickly burst out of the scrap heap, sliding towards Ultra Magnus.

"Ultra Magnus sir I've intercepted a final message sent secretly by a communicationsofficerwithintheA1!"

Wheeljack slapped his forehead as Springer raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"Slow down Autobot, what is your designation and problem?" Magnus asked the blue speedster.

"Sorry Ultra Magnus sir I always talk fast when I'm nervous I'm Blur intelligence officer under the command of Wheeljack and it was while I was looking at the stars in my spare time that I picked up a spark message from a spy within Rodimus's command," the speedster explained, quite deliberately without pause.

Magnus wondered whether Blur was still nervous or he just always talked quickly.

"Spark message, those don't exist soldier," Springer said.

"THEYDOEXISTTHEYDOEXISTTHEYDOEXIST!" Blur yelled.

"ENOUGH!" Magnus roared.

Blur shuffled back nervously as Springer stood at ease.

"Spark messages do exist Springer," Magnus said.

"Yes, a dying Cybertronian possessing a will so strong and a message so important that their spark itself emerges from the all spark to deliver that message. What did the message say Blur?" Wheeljack asked.

"That the seeds of doubt exist within the defected forces and that Orion Pax might be able to convince Jetfire Warpath and Prowl to fight against Rodimus and Megatron when they arrive in the Prothean galaxy," Blur explained.

"Wait, are you saying that it was indeed a genuine spark message, a message sent by someone from within the all spark?" Springer asked.

"It's happened before," Magnus said.

"When and how?"

"My bond mate, after she and the sparklings she was tasked with protecting were destroyed she sent a message to me from the all spark. What was your relationship with the one this message came from Blur?" Magnus asked.

"Sari and I are friends sir but we ended up serving on different ships," Blur said.

Magnus lowered his head slightly.

"Thank you for passing the message on soldier, we can take it from here," he said as he turned to Springer.

"What are we going to do?" Springer asked.

"Put together a task force, Wheeljack prepare a space bridge, get me the LSC," Magnus said.

"The lightning strike coalition they have a stupid name and they're a suicide and…" Blur paused for the first time since he had arrived, "A destroyer squad tasked with eliminating threats with extreme prejudice!"

"They will go to the Prothean galaxy, track down the Decepticon forces and eliminate them and if necessary the matrix of leadership," Magnus explained.

"I hope this Orion Pax is reasonable," Wheeljack chuckled.

"But Sari said Orion Pax would be able to save Rodimus's crew not to mention that the lighting strike coalition may endanger the indigenous populace," Blur explained.

"They will stop the Decepticons no matter the cost," Magnus said as he walked to the door.

Blur's expression fell as he quickly processed the meaning of Magnus's words. They would eliminate the Decepticons no matter who got caught in the crossfire. He moved to chase after the commander, but Wheeljack quickly grabbed his shoulder.

"Leave it boy, there's nothing you can do, just pray to Primus that Sari wasn't wrong in her judgement of Orion Pax's spark," the scientist explained before returning to his work.

Magnus and Springer walked through the corridors of the Omega. The ship was so vast in size, yet was able to be operated by a minimal crew. The area of the ship Magnus and his second walked through was reserved for Special Forces. Five stasis pods were set on the wall to the left of Magnus.

"I don't agree with Blur's reliance on old and unproven theories, perhaps he heard a radio message the officer sent discreetly to him or perhaps it was a spy acting as Sari. My point is sir is sending in the lightning strike coalition really necessary?" Springer asked.

"I don't make this choice easily Springer, I would go myself but there is too much at stake here," Magnus said.

"Exactly, I'm not one to follow blind faith but Orion Pax inspired a whole city to stand up and fight, that has to give his ability to convince Jetfire, Prowl and Warpath to defect some value right?"

"I can look up the background of any soldier in the Autobot army, I can become familiar with their history. But Orion Pax, he is a blank page to me. I know his reputation but his past has been sealed. Only a member of the council can erase records of a person's past."

"Orion Pax is a records clerk why would his past be a mystery?" Springer asked.

"Exactly, he may very well be a good man but I cant put everything on faith, awaken them," Magnus said.

Springer sighed as he tapped the deactivation sequence of the pods. One by one they hissed and slowly opened. The first to emerge was the leader of the coalition. He stood as tall as Ultra Magnus, bearing a body capable of turning into a tank. The second and third emerged, both slightly shorter with bodies capable of becoming cars. Then came the fourth and fifth. Every member, save for the fifth had armour consisting of grey, red and primarily yellow colours. The fifth, a jet type Autobot had blue armour on his chest.

"Grab energon rations and meet inside the briefing room," Magnus said.

The leader of the coalition snarled, his blue visor narrowed into a frown.

"Magnus, how many cycles has it been since our last mission? Have you finally decided to attack Megatron?"

"You will be briefed on your mission in due time," Magnus said. "And fix that attitude, Grimlock!"

* * *

Shepard already had a good idea of the effectiveness of the Autobots in a combat situation. Ashley and Kaidan had also made their skills very clear. But in order to keep the Autobots away from a potential diplomatic incident and to keep her squad mates free of reprisals she opted to go to Fist without them. Garrus was just doing his job and they were bound to find something illegal in Chora's den that required an arrest, or a few bullets. Wrex also had a job to do and like Shepard he wasn't going to let anything stand in his way. Fist had cleared out Chora's den and armed his guards. He hadn't been expecting Wrex to come alone though. Shepard knew Garrus was a good shot, but she had no idea just how good. Wrex gave them a good shield with his barriers and he provided the distraction.

Seeing Wrex send a man flying with a shoulder barge was something Shepard knew she wouldn't see if the Autobots came along. She told them she needed stealth and finesse. Although her idea of finesse was smaller explosions. Her Omni-tool overloaded the extinguishers in the club; one even threw a guard headfirst into the bar. Wrex ran through the smoke with his biotics flaring, illuminating his path. He rammed another man against the wall and shredded another with his shotgun. The beast of a weapon cut through armour and flesh like a blade. But the kills didn't all go to the raging Krogan, the Turian investigator lived up to Sheapard's expectations. He proved her assessment of him being a sharpshooter right. Every time Garrus pulled the trigger on his rifle an enemy went down, he never wasted a shot and his targeting was instant. Shepard considered herself a decent marksman, but Garrus was something else. They released overload tech together, shocking a biotic guard. Wrex then blew the man's head off with his shotgun.

"The stories don't do you justice Shepard," Wrex laughed.

"You should see me on the frontlines," Shepard retorted.

Fist seemed truly desperate, so much so that he gave his janitors guns. But upon seeing the three soldiers the labourers knew they would be dead men. Shepard wasn't an unreasonable woman. They were honest men trying to make a living with the wrong man.

"Time to find a new job," she told them.

"Yeah I never liked Fist anyway," the loyalty the club owner inspired was laughable.

"It would have been easier to kill them," Wrex muttered, almost disappointed by the outcome.

"That's not really necessary, now come on Fist is waiting," Shepard said.

The trio came into Fists office. Glad in black and red armour, the crime boss ducked underneath his desk.

"Why do I have to do everything myself?" despite the frustration in his voice Shepard could tell he was trying to hide his fear.

The two automated turrets beside his desk began rolling, spraying the walls with bullets. Shepard remained under cover, keeping her rifle raised and Omni-tool active. She popped out of cover and hit one of the turrets with an overload. The shields of the machine were broken, but Shepard's shields also faded. She took to cover again refusing to meet Jenkins's fate. Fist took pot shots from his cover too, trying to make himself out to be a fighter. But Shepard knew fighters when she saw them and Fist was no fighter. Wrex emerged from cover, firing a carnage missile from his shotgun. The projectile slammed into the left turret, blowing it apart and throwing Fist onto the desk. Garrus and Shepard then drew their rifles. They hit the right turret with overloads and kept on firing their rifles until the turret blew apart. Shepard put her rifle on her back and drew her pistol as she approached Fist.

"I assume you know why I'm here so I'll cut to the chase, tell me where the Quarian is or I'll feed you to Wrex," she said.

"I don't know where she is, she came to me with information said she would only give it to the shadow broker himself," Fist said.

"Impossible no one sees the shadow broker, even I was recruited through an agent," Wrex said.

"She didn't know that, I set up a meeting point where Saren's men were going to be waiting. The meeting took place ten minutes ago…"

"You son of a bitch," Shepard snarled, grabbing Fist's neck and pushing her gun against his chin.

"She survived, I had some of my men tail her to make sure the hit men did their jobs. One of those robots saved her, the yellow one you were on the presidium with," Fist explained.

"Bumblebee," Shepard muttered.

"The robot transformed and then drove away," Fist said.

Shepard let go of Fist and turned to Wrex and Garrus. The Krogan mercenary suddenly fired his shotgun, throwing Fist against the wall with a hole in his chest.

"What are you doing?" Garrus looked at Wrex in shock.

"I was given a job to kill Fist, I don't go back on my jobs," Wrex said.

The Krogan widened his eyes as Shepard punched him across the face.

"When you fight alongside me you fight as a part of my unit, which means you follow my orders, so you do not execute an unarmed prisoner unless I say so," she explained firmly.

""How many people have died because of him? Besides you need to find your Autobot buddy, what did you call it…Bumblebee?" Wrex asked.

"I called **him** Bumblebee, Blaster have you heard anything from Bumblebee?" Shepard asked over the radio.

"You'd better switch to a news vid, anyone will do," Blaster sighed.

"That slagging glitching, heaping pile of molten slag, what does he think he's doing?"

"What's got Arcee in a mood?"

"Shepard, you'd better look at this," Garrus said.

She looked over his shoulder and at the vid on his Omni-tool. It showed a Citadel news reporter by the name of Emily Wong. Every word she spoke was uttered with awe as her camera drone showed Bumblebee standing in the lake. Shepard, Garrus and even Wrex watched with equal awe as a light hovered over a figure in the water. Bumblebee's body was as still as a statue, but the light floating out of his open chest looked so alive.

"I'm here with many others bearing witness to an extraordinary scene, doctors within Huerta memorial hospital have been preparing a room for the treatment of a Quarian all on the insistence of one of the Autobots. But on scene the Quarian's condition has worsened and the Autobot delivering her has placed her on the water. Could this light be some kind of funeral ritual perhaps?"

"That light," Garrus gasped.

"Now I get why Arcee was so angry," Shepard sighed.

"Maybe those robots really are sentient, only a sentient being could be that stupid. Show the world your heart and they'll shoot it," Wrex said.

Bumblebee's spark lingered over Tali's body. The light shined down on the Quarian, seeping through her suit and onto the pores of her skin. Cliff Jumper flew down to the Presidium, opening his doors for Kaidan and Ashley.

"Kaidan, Ash the Quarian is on the Presidium with Bumblebee," Shepard said.

"Which one was Bumblebee?" Kaidan asked.

"The one you're looking at right now, get the Quarian out of there and get her over to Huerta now," the commander ordered.

Kaidan and Ashley nodded their heads before rushing towards the lake. They grabbed the Quarian, pulling her away from the spark. Tali opened her eyes and looked at her surroundings in confusion.

"Are you all right ma'am?" Kaidan asked.

"My fever, it's gone, keelah I was at deaths door," Tali gasped and looked at the spark.

"What is that?" Ashley asked.

"It is the light within the heart of every being!"

The trio turned to see Ratchet standing before them. He had a firm and severe expression on his face, directed at Bumblebee as the spark returned to his body. The young scout opened his eyes and blinked in surprise.

"So that's what they call an out of body experience, that was enlightening, don't you think so?" Bumblebee asked the Quarian.

Kaidan and Ashley looked at Bumblebee in shock, wondering exactly what he had done.

* * *

Omega Supreme-Briefing room

Ultra Magnus stood in a room was usually preserved for an army. But the arc of hundreds of chairs had been filled by only five Autobots. They were an unruly bunch but their methods were unquestionable. Skilled in combat, dedicated to protecting Cybertron and one another, the members of the lightning strike coalition were as close as brothers. Grimlock was their leader, a strong if ignorant leader. He believed his strength and the strong bonds he formed with his men were all he needed to be a leader. Magnus however felt otherwise, though Grimlock would always be leader of the coalition he would never become a true leader of Autobots.

"I see they're still stingy with Energon rations," the scout of the coalition, Swoop sighed.

"That's one thing that's never going to change," said Slug, the demolitions expert.

"What about the crew, its like we're taking bots straight out of their incubators and slapping armour on them," Snarl, the communications officer look down sympathetically.

"It can't be helped, we need to end this war no matter the cost," logistics expert Sludge said coldly.

"It doesn't make it right Sludge," Grimlock growled.

"Lightning strike coalition, as you all remember you were placed into stasis after the battle of Tyger Pax robbed us of many fine warriors. Dark days are ahead of us, Rodimus Prime has joined his forces with Megatron, whom now leads a force capable of taking the entire galaxy if he so wishes," Magnus explained.

"Megatron," Grimlock squeezed his hand into a fist.

"You obviously require our assistance or you wouldn't have woken us up," Swoop said.

"We need a response team, elite guard forces are stretched thing and we were just preparing to attack an Energon mine under Scorponok's command. Energon is now more important than ever, we can't draw ourselves away from the search, but Rodimus and Megatron are also a threat we can not afford to have stay active," Springer explained.

"So you want us to attack Megatron, that's a suicide mission," Snarl said.

"No, you're to go after Rodimus in the galaxy the Protheans originally occupied," Magnus said.

"I assume a new species has taken up the position left by the empire," Grimlock said.

"Expect hostilities, but do not engage the locals unless fired upon. Your priority is eliminating Rodimus and the forces under his command," Springer said.

"You have another objective of equal importance. Not all of Rodimus's men agreed with his defection, we have Intel that a survey team is already in the galaxy. They are under the command of Orion Pax, whom was able to steal the matrix of leadership from Rodimus. We do not yet know the function of the matrix beyond being a simple badge of command, but the Decepticons will pursue it. Whatever power is or is not inside it cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of Megatron. Keep the Decepticons from recovering the matrix," Magnus explained.

"Exactly how far can we go to protect it?" Slug asked.

"Destroy it if necessary!"

"We accept the mission," Grimlock said.

"Well the boss bot has spoken," Swoop sighed.

"Remember the rules of engagement this time Grimlock, do not fire upon the local life forms unless fired upon, the last thing we want is an interstellar conflict," Springer explained.

"Don't worry, I wont go stomping on the natives, but their problems aren't mine. Rest assured Ultra Magnus I'll fix your problems for you," Grimlock stood up and slammed his fist into his palm, "Even if it means ripping the matrix from Orion's chest and taking command of his crew myself!"

Next Chapter 8: Conclusion

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, I got Tali's adventure before she met the commander from her Mass Effect Homeworld issue. Now the next chapter is not the last chapter, so don't think I called it conclusion because its the end. The events in the Citadel reach their conclusion as the council decide what to do with the Autobots and Tali gives Shepard the data she acquired.

Yep the Lightning Strike Coalition are the Dinobots, but they haven't yet acquired the forms we know them for. Will they? Well that's something you'd have to wait to see.

Voice actor time too, these are the voices I imagined when I wrote the characters.

Wheeljack-Doug Erholtz: Voiced Gin Ichimaru in Bleach and Kisuke Urahara from episode 231 onwards. He also voiced Asuma Sarutobi in Naruto, Cao Pi in the Dynasty warriors series and Squall Leonhart in Final Fantasy Dissidia and Kingdom Hearts 2. I kind of imagine him with Gin or Kisuke's voice, the intellectual but he's ideas and inventions are a little on the crazy side.

Blur-Crispin Freeman: You probably know him as Alucard of Hellsing, or Itachi Uchiha in Naruto or Red Arrow from Young Justice. Has many other voice acting roles, but when it came to Blur I imagined Mr Freeman when he voiced Cougar in Scryed, a driver and speed obsessed character whom occasionally talked without pausing for breath.

Grimlock-Liam O'Brien: The gruff demeanor of Grimmlock and his later savagery can be best done by Liam O'Brien, voiced Gaara in Naruto, Caius Ballad in Final Fantasy XIII-2, Ieyasu Tokugawa in Sengoku Basara and Asura in Asura's Wrath.

Ultra Magnus-Michael Ironside: Method actor who mostly does military roles, fitting for Ultra Magnus (he also voiced Ultra Magnus in Transformers Prime). Also provided the voice for Darkseid in the DC animated universe and Sam Fisher in Splinter Cell until Splinter Cell:Conviction.

Springer-Robin Atkin Downes: Voiced the Prince in Prince of Persian Warrior Within, Keran in Dragon Age 2 and Samanosuke Akechi in Onimusha 3.

Slug: Travis Willingham Reprising the role from Fall of Cybertron

Swoop: Mark Allan Stewart reprises the role from FOC

Snarl: Sam Riegel reprises the role

Sludge-Paul Dobson: Voiced Obsidian in Beast Machines, Sideways in Transformers Armada and Graham Aker in Gundam 00


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers or Mass Effect

* * *

Transform Effect 1: Rise a Prime

Chapter 8: Conclusion

Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya felt very uneasy. But in the presence of Commander Jane Shepard she felt that burden begin to lighten. She still had the disturbed feeling from her interaction with the machine. The metallic giants were apparently a new species that were negotiating with the Citadel council. Tali rubbed her arm as the Normandy's Doctor Chakwas patched up her suit. The humans had reserved a room for her at Huerta memorial hospital, the safest place in the Citadel. It felt strange to Tali to be able to stay in a place most Quarians were barred from. Chakwas also reacted kindly towards her, keeping Shepard and her teammates out and especially the robots. The red and white robot insisted on checking Tali's condition but Chakwas insisted back that she would personally attend to Tali's wounds.

"Thank you," Tali said to the doctor.

"Ratchet has good medical data, it isn't so bad at its job but it lacks interpersonal skills," Chakwas stated as she finished patching up Tali's suit.

"I don't trust them," Tali rubbed her arms, she felt dirty and sick.

But her immune system felt better than ever. Whatever that creature's power source had done had boosted her system like an antibiotic. She had no doubt that taken her helmet off would still leave her with a fever.

"You don't trust that they are alive or that they come in peace?" Chakwas asked.

"Neither," Tali said.

"Well I trust that they're here to negotiate, that they're here by accident. But that they are alive? I'm not sure; I used to believe that being alive was about birth, about organic nature. But in the past twelve hours I've seen almost childlike reactions from some of the Autobots," Chakwas explained.

"Autobots?"

"Members of the Cybertronian race whom have so far appeared to be friendly," Shepard said as she entered the room. "How's our patient doctor?"

"Fine, in fact whatever the scout did has fixed her fever and her heart rate. Perhaps it was its form of CPR!"

"That seems like a good comparison, and Chakwas Bumblebee has a name, regardless of whether you believe he is a he please call him by his name," Shepard said, perhaps a bit more forceful than she meant to.

Her point still stood, she wouldn't stand for the Autobots being called things just as she wouldn't stand for Quarians being mistreated.

"I hope you're okay Miss, Bumblebee never meant you any harm in fact it would be accurate to say that he saved your life. This group of Autobots doesn't intend to harm anyone on the Citadel; their captain is in negotiations with the council but before that he saved my life at Eden Prime. You know what happened on Eden Prime don't you Miss?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, I do, and my name is Tali, Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya," Tali said.

"Nice to meet you Tali, are you fit enough to move to the next room?"

"I can manage," Tali said, setting her feet on the ground perfectly.

Shepard led Tali into Nihlus's room. There the Spectre sat in his bed with Anderson and Udina beside him. Ashley, Kaidan and Garrus stood at the foot of Nihlus's bed whilst Wrex leant against the wall further from the humans and Turians. All eyes went to Tali and Shepard as they entered, the Quarian trembled with both excitement and fear. She had finally gotten the information to the right people, but they were also in league with synthetics. There was a saying amongst the humans, something about better the devil you know. Tali however had been raised on stories of how the Geth drove their people to near extinction and Saren was ruthless by reputation. In this case it seemed more like the devil you didn't know.

"What is this about Shepard? I already have complaints from hospital staff about these machines bullying staff, as well as speeding and illegal parking. Now I have news that you shot up the wards!" Udina stated angrily.

"We were doing what you tasked us to do Udina, find evidence on Saren's betrayal and if you have a problem with the Autobots take it up with Optimus," Shepard and Anderson smirked as Udina gulped.

"I still can't believe it Shepard, Saren a traitor? I trained with Saren, he's a friend," Nihlus said.

"I imagine its hard Nihlus but we have proof," Shepard sighed.

"What proof?" Udina asked.

"The Quarian," Wrex said.

"My name is Tali, Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya!"

"We don't see too many Quarians, what exactly led you to this 'evidence'?" Udina asked sceptically.

"I'd imagine it had something to do with your pilgrimage," Nihlus said.

"Yes, a right of passage of my people, during my travels I came across a Geth separated from its squad. I disabled the Geth and managed to get a hold of its memory core," Tali began.

"I thought Geth fried their memory core, sometime of self defence mechanism," Anderson said.

"Yes but if your quick and very careful data can still be salvaged. I found information in its audio banks, a communications recording between Saren and what seemed to be his lieutenants," Tali bought up her Omni-tool and began tapping on the buttons.

Nihlus widened his eyes as the voice of his friend echoed through the room:

"Eden Prime was a major victory, the beacon has brought us one step closer to the conduit!"

The Turian sighed and leant his head back.

"So it is true, why Saren?" he slammed his fist into his side table.

"There's more," Tali said as she resumed the recording.

"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers," a cold and smooth woman's voice blurted out of the tool.

"That's, Matriarch Benezia," again Nihlus widened his eyes in shock.

"Whose that?" Shepard asked.

"A leader of the Asari, she has many followers all of whom are devoted to her. It's strange but she always spoke of unity between the Asari and other species. Her daughter Liara T'Soni discovered evidence of the Autobots and their war with the Protheans," the spectre explained.

"Those things were around during the time of the Protheans?" Tali asked.

"According to her yes, that captain Orion Pax also made contact with the beacon and he said that someone had accessed it before him. That must mean that Saren acquired the Prothean data…I'm not condoning what he's done but he had to have risked joining with a Prothean data archive for a damn good reason," Nihlus explained.

"No damn good reason justifies attempting to destroy a whole colony," Anderson said.

"What were those 'Reapers' they were talking about?" Udina asked.

"I have a feeling someone might know," Shepard said.

She activated her Omni-tool and its holographic communicator. Opening the palm of her hand, Shepard created a holographic image of Optimus. The Autobot leader looked at the people in the room, his mouth plate forming into what may have been a smile.

"Ratchet informed me of your actions in the wards and on the presidium, its good to see that you've made progress," he said.

"You've got a giant robot on speed dial? When you just met him a day ago?" Ashley asked the commander.

"What can I say I have that effect on guys," Shepard shrugged her shoulders.

"So this is the Quarian Bumblebee melded his spark with?" Optimus turned his gaze to Tali, looking closely at her Omni-tool. "I can tell you have been through much, your courage should be praised."

"Um, thank you captain," Tali rubbed her wrists nervously.

"Tali managed to find a recording of Saren and an Asari matriarch called Benezia, they were all but admitting to the attack on Eden Prime," Shepard explained.

Optimus rubbed his chin curiously. Ever since speaking with Liara T'Soni he had carried out research on her papers. Her enthusiasm was commendable and though her papers on the Protheans were painted by her ignorant view she had more information on them than anyone in the galaxy, excluding every Cybertronian.

"There is more, here let me play all of it uninterrupted," Tali said.

She rewound the recording and played it in its full form.

"Eden Prime was a major victory, the beacon has brought us one step closer to the conduit!"

"And one step closer to the return of the reapers!"

The next voice filled those whom had been on Eden Prime with a sense of dread. Those whom hadn't been to Eden Prime were just as disturbed by the fierce and metallic voice of the Fallen one.

"The master will be most displeased if he comes to this galaxy and finds the matrix of leadership waiting for him. We must pry the matrix from the chest of the Prime!"

"The Fallen," Optimus snarled.

"You saw what was on the beacon, what was it exactly?" Shepard asked.

"A warning, sent to every corner of the Prothean empire, Eden Prime was the last stand of the Protheans before they were wiped out. Their final act of desperation was to leave hints in key locations where new species were likely to colonise. But over the eons it seems that time has damaged the beacons," despite the situation Optimus chuckled. "If a Prothean survived and was told the inaccuracy of the warning he'd probably say 'communication is still primitive in this cycle' when in reality they didn't use the correct means of preserving the data."

"You know you make the Protheans out to be a little…arrogant," Kaidan said.

"Oh you have no idea!"

"But if the information was damaged how did you figure it out?" Nihlus asked.

"Before the war I was an archivist, the processing of information is something I'm an expert at. The fact that I can speak the Prothean language also helped," Optimus explained.

"So on top of being a soldier you're a librarian too?"

"We were all forced to become soldiers Miss Williams."

"What is the Prothean language like?" Kaidan asked.

"Very aggressive…lets see a common Prothean saying, ah yes…Dooleck KA!"

"What does that mean?"

"Kill him!"

"Catchy, I like it," Wrex said.

"Can we get back on topic, what are the reapers and what is the matrix of leadership?" Nihlus asked.

"The data did include information on the reapers, they were apparently a race of machines that existed fifty thousand years ago, the Geth worship them," Tali explained.

"That is accurate, the beacon was a warning about the reapers. It seems the Fallen may have discovered the reapers or maybe they are using him, it is difficult to say for sure," Optimus said.

"And the matrix of leadership?"

"That is something else that is new to me," Optimus lied. "You should prepare to present your evidence to the council, whilst I prepare for their answer."

Shepard raised her hand to speak, but the Autobot leader immediately cut off communications. He lowered his head and sighed. The matrix was something he had to keep secret until he was certain that he could trust the people of this galaxy. But he was curious over what important the relic had to the reapers and the Fallen. Why did they find it threatening? The collective knowledge of the leaders of Cybertron and a badge of honour were in no way threatening. Optimus already had that knowledge from years as an archivist.

"Is everything all right big bot?" Bumblebee asked as he and Ratchet approached.

"Galactic peace stands at a thread, all because of our arrival. Even though we have given them time to prepare I fear that if Megatron arrives he will cripple their defences, leaving this galaxy ripe for the reapers harvest," Optimus explained.

"Optimus why do we not just leave them?" Ratchet asked.

"Ah agree," Ironhide said. "They're a primitive society. The Quarians seek the destruction of the Geth, humanity seeks domination over all simply because they are new to the galactic scene, the Krogan are violent and vengeful, the Salarians are overcome by logic, the Hanar worship the Protheans as gods and the Drell serve them like slaves for something they did hundreds of years ago and the Batarians…slavery is tolerated and encouraged in their society and the council does nothing. The Terminus system is a wasteland of corruption and criminality, it has no civilisation there and the council lets it continue on."

"Then they are not so different from us," Optimus sighed.

"How so?"

"Our own council ignored the poverty of Kaon, even encouraged it and did whatever it took to keep people from becoming more than they were. When the Prothean Empire first came, a Protoform incubation facility was offered as a sacrifice to appease the Protheans, that in turn drove Megatron to commit acts of unforgiving ferocity against the Protheans. I believe had we caught up with the Protheans, had we gone through the relay to their home worlds we would not have rested until we had destroyed them completely," Optimus explained.

"Yeah you're right, Ah would never have stopped trying to destroy an enemy that wanted us dead," Ironhide said.

"Optimus what are we going to do if the council rejects us?" Bumblebee asked.

"We'll pursue the Fallen, save the colonies he has attacked and when it happens, meet Rodimus and Megatron head on!"

"I don't want to die a martyr," Ratchet said.

"Then I will go by myself, I wont order any of you to follow me into an impossible mission," Optimus said.

"We've already gone this far big bot, so far you've only led us towards amazing things. I never would have been witness to first contact if I had been with Magnus's squad," Bumblebee explained.

"And Ah would never have stood beside one of the finest bots I know if I stayed with the wreckers, that new bunch became major cog holes," Ironhide smiled.

Optimus bowed his head in thanks and turned to Ratchet. His friend seemed particularly conflicted. Despite his gruff demeanour Ratchet cared greatly for the safety of the Autobots under his care. It had come from eons of declaring young bots offline after failing to treat their injuries. Optimus noticed Ratchet's optics focus on the mark on Bumblebee's cheek.

"They'll always be afraid of us, somewhere at the back of their minds will be that fear," Ratchet sighed.

"Then we need to show them, that we are here, that we are alive and that we have the same wishes and desires they do. Some of us desire peace, others vengeance, others wish to protect as I do," Optimus said.

"Really? You say that but you already have Ironhide and Bumblebee beside you. If Megatron comes, if he threatens this galaxy, if the Reapers or the great calamity himself descents from dark space will you stand alone to protect these people whom have rejected you?" Ratchet asked.

_Silence was what he heard. But the yells of his fellow slaves was deafening. The bots of the arena, scarred, battered and starved of Energon stood before him. They pumped their fists as he raised his hand. Though there was silence the yells of those wronged by the council was deafening. The council claimed to speak for the people, but they didn't need to. It was in this moment that he discovered the true voices within the people. Each individual could come to understand one another, thus they would yell for the same thing. The basic right that all sentient beings had, freedom._

Optimus rubbed his head, he needed to ask Ratchet about the flashbacks he was having. He looked at the medic, whom seemed to be disturbed by Optimus's temporary distraction.

"Well Optimus, will you stand as Megatron's army descents upon you, will you stand alone against any threat this galaxy produces?" the medic asked.

"Yes I will!"

Ratchet widened his eyes as Optimus stepped forward.

"For I believe that peace is possible, I will fight against both organic and Cybertronian domination until there exists a world where all peoples can live in harmony and with equal opportunities. Its an ideal world that I hope to live to see become a reality, but if needs be my friend it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die for," he explained.

Blaster and Arcee stood at the entrance to the embassy, both thinking about Optimus's speech. Though it was intended to reach Ratchet it did a lot more than that. Arcee still had doubts over Optimus's effectiveness as a leader, but she had no doubt in his acceptance of the responsibility that came with leadership. Blaster's loyalty was stronger than ever, as was the loyalty of Bumblebee and Ironhide.

"We'll follow you until the end Optimus Prahm," Ironhide grinned.

"I am no Prime, I am just a soldier," Optimus said.

"You're more than that boss bot, if there was a man like you during the council's rule on Cybertron, our home world would have been a much better place," Blaster explained.

"Perhaps," Ratchet hummed, stroking his chin.

"Shepard will soon be seeing the council, I wish to be there to hear their answer for us," Optimus said.

* * *

Megatron looked over his forces as they prepared for inevitable battle and ultimately conquest. He stood atop of his capital ship Nemesis as his scientists continued repairs of the mass relay. The Decepticon leader felt his lieutenant Dreadwing fly up behind him. Dreadwing was one of his most loyal warriors, and even if he did choose to betray him, Megatron was confident in his ability to dispose of traitors.

"The assembly of Starscreams forces is nearly complete, but lord Megatron, is giving him leadership of the Constructicons truly wise?" Dreadwing asked.

"Speak your mind Dreadwing," Megatron said.

"The men have begun talking, Starscream has high ambitions, baseless ambitions but threats can come from the most unexpected of places," the commander explained.

"True, Starscream is a coward, he will only ever threaten me if he believes he has some form of leverage. Such as the Autobot matrix of leadership," Megatron chuckled.

"Is there any truth to the legends, to the power that lies within the matrix?"

"If there is," Megatron narrowed his eyes and formed a fist in his hand, "Then I am the only bot left who can control that power. Mark my words Dreadwing if Starscream tries to oppose me then I will rip out his spark!"

"Yes lord Megatron," Dreadwing bowed his head as Megatron jumped off of the ship.

He transformed to his jet mode, flying towards the construction area and transforming in mid-flight. The Decepticons stepped back as their leader landed in an intimidating pose. Thundercracker and Skywarp were the first to bow, followed by the rest of the army. Megatron raised his fist to the sky and fired off a shot from his cannon.

"ENOUGH! HAVE PRIDE IN YOURSELVES!" Megatron yelled.

The Decepticons widened their eyes, confused over their leader's anger.

"I am not your master, you are not my slaves. We are the free men of Cybertron, not weighed down by the old dated ways. Even morality hasn't shackled us, we are the ones who will save our home world, and we will be the masters of Cybertron. So do not kneel, never kneel to anyone. On the other side of that relay is an entire galaxy of planets ripe for harvest and the organics whom have inherited the Prothean empire. If they stand in our way we will crush them, if they seek our destruction then we will destroy them first." The Decepticons cheered at Megatron's words.

On the observation deck of the Nemesis, Starscream watched the speech with disdain.

'Pathetic, they only follow him because he is strong but he lacks the intellect to lead Cybertron to greatness,' the air commander thought. "I on the other hand," he muttered.

"Your words are treasonous Starscream!"

Scream jumped upwards, turning to see Rodimus standing at the doorway. The former Autobot leader had unlike his Autobot followers adopted Decepticon colours. The red portions of his armour had taken on a black colour, his chest plate was blue and the flames across his body were purple. He also sported the Decepticon symbol on his chest, perhaps signifying his full conversion to their ways.

"And baseless too, no one will follow you," Rodimus said.

"My intellect could save Cybertron, Megatron speaks of abandoning morality but he is still stuck in the past, over his anger with the council and his anger with the Protheans. I am the commander of the seekers, we whom can fly the highest, move the fastest and always look towards the future. Don't forget Rodimus that I was the one whom presented your case to Megatron, if not for me you would be on the scrap pile like Cup…" Rodimus suddenly backed away as Rodimus raised his hand.

"You speak of your actions when in reality Megatron would have agreed with my plan to begin with. He's desperate as we all are to see our home world in its former glory. But there is no future for that Cybertron, only a new Cybertron one where the mistakes of the past are not repeated. For that Cybertron to exist we will need a leader with the wisdom to wield the matrix, you were the first Decepticon to see the sense of my plan…perhaps you are the one to wield that matrix," Rodimus explained.

Starscream smirked as he placed his hands on his hips.

"HA! Whose being treasonous now Rodimus? But you are right, we need new ways of thinking and Megatron lacks that. Those whom have ridiculed me will suffer after I gain the power to take command for myself. Rest easy Rodimus, for you are not one of them," the seeker stated as he walked out of the room.

Rodimus huffed and crossed his arms. When he was sure the commander was gone he looked down at the Decepticon forces.

"Arrogant fool, you have no idea what's coming," Rodimus lowered his head and sighed. "Cup, I am so sorry, but this is how it must be!"

As Rodimus pondered the severity and the future sacrifices his plan demanded, Jetfire floated in space. He looked at the chip he managed to salvage from Sari's body, before Swindle began selling the parts. It was not Sari's spark, that had been extinguished but the chip contained all of Sari's knowledge and memories.

"What are you looking for Megatron?" he wondered.

A beam ran from Jetfire's forehead to the chip. Binary code appeared in Jetfire's field of vision.

"Clever girl," Jetfire smiled.

As Megatron was torturing Longarm, Sari was in fact downloading information from the Prime. It was a more subtle way of information gathering. In the time of the former Cybertron Empire Sari would have made a good hall of records clerk. She had managed to gather and transform into code all of the data Megatron was trying to extract from Longarm in force. Jetfire was no information analyst; he needed to get the data to someone capable of decoding it. Orion Pax served as the best option. He looked at the army beneath him and counted the forces Starscream would be taking. His seeker squadron was a certainty, even though they were down one bot. The green and purpled armoured Constructicons would also be going. Rodimus would want to take Prowl and Warpath with him. Jetfire liked to think that he would be able to out run the group once he had sabotaged whatever vessel they would be taking.

"There he is," Megatron muttered, looking over Sixshot's shoulder.

The warrior turned around and looked at the purple shuttle flying towards the relay.

"His reformation is complete?" Sixshot asked.

"Yes, he has spent hundreds of years trying gain a new form, one that best serves the cause," Shockwave said.

Skywarp and Thundercracker exchanged confused looks as the shuttle got closer and closer.

"Is that our transport?" Thundercracker asked.

"He is more than that, he is also the final member of your squad," Megatron said.

The Decepticons, minus Megatron and his triumvirate stepped back in shock as the shuttle transformed in midair. It turned into a massive, purple and black armoured robot as big as Bruticus. But the giant was his own person, not the fused parts of others. He bowed to Megatron, what would have been a strange sight to anyone whom didn't know of Megatron's power.

"Reporting for duty sir," the giant said.

"Astrotrain, impressive, you have transcended your original form. You will carry Rodimus's forces across the cosmos and pave the way for our arrival," Megatron explained.

"WHAT!"

Megatron narrowed his eyes as Starscream landed on the ground.

"I am the commander of the seekers, why is Rodimus being given command?" the commander asked.

"Because he is clearly the better leader, you will follow Rodimus's commands, if not then Astrotrain will personally eject you from the space flight," Sixshot explained.

Jetfire leant against the observation window, sighing at the sight of Astrotrain. He truly was a monstrous sight to behold. The flying Autobots decision to join Orion Pax had gotten more complicated than he originally believed.

* * *

The 'Autobot embassy' had gathered quite a crowd. Word had already spread of their existence and how they had fought for both humanity and a Quarian. There was no secret to keep anymore, the Autobots were on the citadel and they wanted a place in the galaxy. Members of every species gathered in the grand hall to see Optimus address the council, whether it would be the last meeting he ever had with them would be determined there and then. Optimus stood with Ratchet, Ironhide and Bumblebee and waited. He would not begin his session with the council until the human entourage arrived, until Shepard had proven him right. The holograms of the council waited and waited and then the people they were waiting for arrived. Shepard and her team, new members included arrived with Udina and Anderson. Udina had an air of superiority around him, perhaps because he was finally gaining a victory over the council. Shepard however appeared as Optimus expected her to, as a soldier willing to continue her mission.

"Udina, Anderson, I understand you have new evidence to present to us," Tevos said.

"Will it be more reliable than the witness statement of a machine?" Valern asked.

"It is councillor," Udina said.

"However I think this evidence is best presented by the one whom discovered it and a council spectre," Shepard said.

She activated her Omni-tool, establishing a communication link with Nihlus in his hospital room. He had the windows of his room blacked out, a Carnifex tucked neatly under his pillow. Despite the loss of his ability to walk Nihlus would not be completely defenceless.

"Nihlus, it is good to see you have recovered," Sparatus said.

"Thank you councillor, but I believe Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya of the Quarian fleet has discovered the truth in Shepard's words and more," Nihlus explained.

"Councillors, I am Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya, as you may or may not be aware my people have the right to engage in pilgrimages to search for unclaimed resources. It was during my search that I came across a Geth, they have indeed gone beyond the veil and please believe me Eden Prime will not be the last colony to be attacked, if something is not done about them then they will continue to attack colonies until they reach the Citadel itself."

"Are you making a demand of us Miss Zorah?" Valern asked.

"No councillor I present this evidence because it is the right thing to do, because people have died because of this evidence," Tali accessed her Omni-tool and filtered the recording through the speakers set throughout the hall.

The crowds and the council collectively widened their eyes as the voices of two of the galaxy's most important figures echoed around them. When the Fallen's voice echoed, the Autobots gasped.

"You really did meet the Fallen one," Ironhide said.

"But, the Fallen one was noted to be the most savage of the original Primes, why would he retreat after a single encounter?" Ratchet asked.

"I don't know," Optimus said.

"This evidence is irrefutable, Saren will be stripped of his spectre status and all efforts will be made to bring him in for his crimes," Sparatus explained.

"I'm more interested in these Reapers, what do you know about them?" Valern asked.

"Only what was extracted from the Geth's memory core and what Optimus has told us, the Reapers were an ancient race of machines that destroyed the Protheans fifty thousand years ago, the Geth worship them," Anderson explained.

"They believe that Saren is the prophet of their return, that's why they followed him to Eden Prime, because the beacon contained information that might lead them to the conduit," Shepard added.

"The conduit may be the key to bringing the reapers back," Optimus said.

"Listen to your words, Saren wishes to bring back the beings that destroyed all life in the galaxy, where did the Reapers go after this? Why did they vanish? Why have we found no traces of their existence? It is more likely that this 'Fallen one' the Autobots refer to had something to do with the Prothean extinction," Sparatus explained.

"Most undoubtedly but I do not believe that the Reapers are simply a fiction, many legends have a small measure of truth to them. Even if they do no exist you should act with the assumption that they do, that these Geth will seek out this conduit and that the worst can happen if they discover it," Optimus explained.

"With respect councillors I agree with the machine's sentiment, we must act with the assumption that the worst can happen and seek Saren out," Nihlus said.

"Saren is a rogue agent on the run for his life, he no longer has the privileges of a spectre," Tevos said.

"You think that's going to stop him?" Shepard asked.

"That is not good enough, you know he's hiding somewhere in the traverse, send your fleet in," Udina growled.

"A fleet can not track a single man!"

Optimus narrowed his eyes at the council members as they rejected Udina's plea to help his species. They said that a fleet would aggravate the Terminus systems, that they would risk war over a few dozen human colonies. Part of him understood the desire to avoid war, but the other part of him was disgusted by the council. In particular the Turian councillor, how he callously said that they would be dragged into a galactic conflict over a few dozen colonies, as if they didn't matter at all. He did not see that those colonies had civilians; he did not see the dozens of innocents killed, he did not see the thousands of grieving families.

"_WE SHOULD MAKE THEM SEE!"_

He squeezed his hand into a fist; the images circulating through his mind haunted him. But he knew where his focus needed to be. Shepard too was outraged and she showed it in her blunt assessment of the council. Every time humanity needed help the council abandoned them. Udina nearly threw out an organic profanity, if not for Tevos's intervention. She suggested another way that didn't involve ships. But Optimus could see into her eyes, she played the reasonable one, the diplomatic one but she was just as afraid as the other two.

"_YOU'RE A PACK OF FOOLS! EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!"_

'What are these images?' Optimus's circuits groaned.

Ratchet looked over at his captain and touched his shoulder in concern.

"Are you all right Orion?" he asked, using is original name.

"I have reached a conclusion," Optimus growled.

"Council if I may interject, I agree with councillor Tevos's suggestion," Nihlus said.

The Turian's face was serious, even defiant of the council's decision. But he was willing to come to a compromise that was perhaps better than a fleet.

"You sent me to evaluate Shepard's capability as a spectre, well I have reached the conclusion of my evaluation. Commander Jane Shepard meets all the requirements to be a fine spectre, that is both fact and my personal opinion councillors. She has shown combat ability deserving of her N7 status, leadership skills that can not only result in mission success but limited casualties, she also possesses the foresight to see the results of her decisions, to know what is at stake and to stand by her decisions," Nihlus looked towards Optimus and his crew, "She has also shown an unparalleled ability to judge another's character, to see talent and allies in even the most underestimated of citizens. To not make Shepard a spectre is foolishness, she has the drive to go through any obstacle regardless of what that obstacle is, and she will to save lives. You all may have your different opinions of what a spectre should be, but I believe that saving lives no matter the cost is what being a spectre is about," Nihlus explained.

The council stood silent for a moment and Sparatus looked to Tevos. She nodded her head as a signal that it was for the best.

"Shepard, step forward," she said.

Shepard stepped onto the podium in Udina's place. She exchanged respectful nods with Optimus and the Autobots. The people gathered looked at Shepard with great interest and awe. It was a moment that history would be made. The councillors stepped forth and each delivered a speech that was reserved for the naming of spectres. Nihlus leant back; proud that he had made a wise choice.

"It is the decision of this council that you be granted all the power and privileges of the special tactics and reconnaissance branch of the citadel," Tevos said.

"Spectres are an ideal, a symbol. The embodiment of courage, determination and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the council the instruments of our will," Valern said.

"Spectres bear a great burden. They are the protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defence. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold," said Sparatus.

The decision was made, Shepard was a spectre and she had the task of tracking Saren and bringing him to justice. But it was not just a mission statement for Shepard, but for Optimus too. He knew that he needed to stop the Fallen. Something inside of him told him that the Reapers were real, that they were going to destroy all life in the galaxy. The Reapers needed to be stopped and the council were not willing to do that.

"Are there any leads the council believes I should follow up?" Shepard asked.

"The means of which you use to capture Saren are your own Shepard, good luck to you," Tevos said.

"It may be worth picking up Liara T'Soni, as an expert on the Protheans she will probably be a prime target of Saren's," Nihlus explained.

"I'll take care of it," Shepard respectfully bowed her head and got off the podium.

"Congratulations commander," Kaidan said.

Shepard nodded to Kaidan and shook Anderson's hand.

"A lot of expectations have been placed on you Shepard, you'll need a ship, a crew, supplies, Anderson come with me I'll need your help to set everything up," Udina explained.

Optimus looked away from the humans and towards the council.

"I have reached my conclusion," he said. "Council!"

The projections looked up at the Autobot as he stepped over the podium.

"Whatever conclusion you have reached regarding my people and our place in the galaxy, I do not wish to hear it right now!"

The people gasped at Optimus's statement. It held a certain ferocity and Shepard realised that in some way the meeting with the council had angered Optimus.

"I do not believe this council are the leaders they should be. If you were then nothing would stop you from aiding your allies, not the politics of a galaxy of criminals and slavers," Optimus narrowed his eyes in fury at the statement, the fools considered the Terminus a government. "The Autobots however are not, which is why we will prove ourselves to this galaxy through action, by aiding Shepard in stopping Saren and finding evidence that the Reapers truly do exist," he turned away from the council and to his crew. "We're leaving and we wont come back until this council has become the council it should be!"

The people looked amongst themselves and muttered in confusion. Those whom believed that the Autobots were trying to infiltrate the council were proven wrong. It seemed to Shepard that Optimus had said 'screw whatever offer you have, we know it wont be a fair offer so we won't suck up to you'.

"Is this a good or bad thing?" Ashley leant over and asked.

"Good for us Ash, we've got some more allies, but for the council, I hope Optimus has given them something to think about. 'All or none', I think that's how the Autobots roll!" Shepard said.

"All or none?"

"They intend to save everyone or no one at all," the new spectre said.

* * *

Far away from the political turmoil of the citadel and the internal strife of the Decepticons was another form of conflict. This one was a more literal conflict, people fought for their lives but ultimately failed. The Fallen stabbed his lance into the ground and looked up at his keeper.

"Nazara, the first step has been complete, soon Benezia will have extracted the location of the Mu Relay from the insect and Saren will have gained the cipher on Feros, he has directed his Geth forces to find Liara T'Soni, the foolish woman will not get in our way with her ignorance RAAAGH!" the once proud Prime fell to the floor as energy surged through his body.

The Reaper's eyes glowed in anger and the Fallen responded as if it had spoken to him.

"I know, the Prime will try to find her regardless, but it matters not, our master will not need to fear the matrix any longer. Our contact within the Decepticons assures me that his forces will arrive there before the Prime does, he will find more than Geth waiting for him at Therum," the Fallen cackled.

* * *

Liara T'Soni was running for her life. The Geth were everywhere, spreading across her facility. Their arrival had come without warning; she had so little time to gather her research. She ran through the stone corridors of the mountain, towards the pictogram of the two Cybertronians. Her pistol was on the workbench beside the incredible depiction of two leaders, she only had minutes to get to the barriers by the elevator. They would hopefully provide her with protection to buy some time. The Autobots were interested in her research so they would probably come.

'Goddess, please have someone check my facility,' she silently prayed.

She traced her hand over the pictogram, there was still so much more left for her to learn. The Asari widened her eyes as the lines across the picture began to glow. Like a door it slid open, the sudden movement caused Liara to stumble forward. She slid down what felt like a metallic runway of some kind.

"GODDESS!" she screamed, her biotics flared in an attempt to slow her fall.

It only got worse when the doors sealed behind her, leaving her in total darkness with just a blue light at the end of the runway. Liara put her hands to her eyes as she fell into the light. When she opened them she found herself lying in a pool of crystals. They glowed bright blue, brighter than any mass effect field Liara had seen before and they were beautiful, more beautiful than any mineral Liara had come across in her travels. She shuffled through the crystal, taking care not to cut herself.

'It seems the situations gone from bad to worse,' Liara thought.

She was all alone down there, in some kind of hidden chamber built into the mountain. But the crystals began to shift and move. It wasn't Liara whom had disturbed them.

"By the goddess," Liara gasped as something moved underneath the crystals.

She slid down the bed of crystals, hoping to avoid getting buried as crystals fell off of whatever rose from the bed. It was huge, probably a third of the size of the mountain and whatever it was had been disturbed by Liara's arrival. Liara looked at the mechanical creature, its armour was white with blue areas on the belly and reminded Liara of the alloy she had seen on the Autobots. A red neck extended from the armour, attached to a head of some kind. The head opened its jaws, revealing the jagged edges of its teeth. Like a monster it growled, turning to look at Liara with its yellow eyes.

'This truly has gone from bad to worse,' Liara thought as the white and red metal dragon lowered its head towards her.

Next Chapter 9: Decepticon arrival

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. I admit the end was very inspired by The Hobbit :)

Rodimus's new paint job was based on Black Rodimus Convoy, and I took inspiration from one of Nelson Mandela's famous speeches when I wrote out Optimus's speech to his crew about his desire to protect the freedom of the organics, I felt it very much defined Optimus's personality as well, he's a man who will fight for the good of his people and against the evils of his people. Next time Shepard inherits the Normandy and Optimus and Co join her in tracking Saren, but the Normandy crew gets its first taste of Megatron's wrath as Starscream and Rodimus arrive on Therum.

Plus Liara gets fully introduced to the transformer whose sleep she has interrupted. Points if you can guess who he is, you'll have to know your bots from G1 to recognise him :)


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own the Transformers or Mass Effect

* * *

Transform Effect 1: Rise a Prime

Chapter 9: Decepticon arrival

Within the deepest reaches of space energy surged and a singularity formed, dwarfing the mass effect. If anyone had witnessed the event then they would have declared mass effect redundant. Cybertronians had mastered spacebridge technology, but with Energon such a precious resource it was rarely used. Astro-train had to use it, for though Cybertronians lived for billions of years time was still a factor they couldn't waste. The giant Decepticon was filled to his full capacity, but they were very much divided amongst themselves. Seekers stayed with seekers, the Constructicons stayed together as always and Rodimus and his trio of lieutenants were closer to what accounted to Astotrain's cockpit.

"Excellent," Rodimus said.

"Where are we going first?" Jetfire asked.

"Therum, a planet in the Artemis Tau cluster of the Knossos system. There is a scientist there who will be of interest to Orion and his crew," Rodimus explained.

"How would you know that?" Thundercracker asked, narrowing his eyes at Rodimus slightly.

"I was monitoring the communications of this galaxy long before we came here. On that planet lies Liara T'Soni, a scientist specialising in the Protheans. She will be able to provide us with information regarding the greatest Energon source the Protheans ever took from us, the Ilos vault," Rodimus turned to the Decepticons and smiled.

"The Ilos vault, I thought that was just a taunt by the Protheans," Prowl said.

"I don't think the Protheans took any energon, though one vault did disappear," Skywarp said.

"What happened to it?" Ramjet asked.

"You're kidding, you don't know about the theft of the Iacon energon vault, it triggered the space race," Thrust said.

"It happened when the civil war began after the Protheans left. Before the Arc was launched and the council's deaths an inquiry was launched into the actions of the council during the Prothean war. An investigator believed that the council was acting in a way that violated the laws formed by Nova Prime, after he completed his investigation he was said to have become so sickened by the council's corruption and the conflict between Sentinel Prime and Megatron that he integrated his own spark into a space vessel. He left Cybertron with a vault of pure energon crystals vowing to never return," Warpath explained.

"Who was this bot?" Starscream asked.

"At the time he went by a simple number designation, when he fused with the space vessel he took on a new name," Prowl said.

"And that name was?"

"Sky lynx!"

* * *

C-Sec was crawling all over the shared G1 and Normandy launch bay. As humanity had been the first species to make contact with them, the alliance had been given an unofficial responsibility over Optimus and his crew. That crew made their way to the ship with an armed escort they were probably perfectly capable of destroying. But in order to encourage trust, Optimus volunteered to ride as a prisoner of the Normandy.

"Sir, with all due respect I think it should be me," Bumblebee said.

"Bumblebee…"

"No sir, we need our leader, turn me over and we wont have lost you if the worst happens," the scout explained.

"You have courage Bumblebee," Optimus said.

"I'm willing to risk my spark to see peace between us and them, I need to do this sir," Bumblebee said.

"Very well, report to commander Shepard then."

Bumblebee pulled a quick salute before transforming to hover car mode. He flew up to the Normandy docking platform. Shepard and her ground team were already beginning their meeting with Udina and Anderson. The new spectre gave Anderson a confused look before the ambassador began speaking.

"Anderson has decided to turn the Normandy over to your command," Udina said.

Shepard, Ashley and Kaidan widened their eyes slightly. The other three new additions stayed back, with Tali hiding behind Wrex.

"What's got you shaking?" he asked.

"Nothing," Tali whispered nervously.

Wrex looked over to the yellow hover car beside the Normandy. He smirked and laughed with a Krogan growl.

"Someone has an admirer it seems," he said.

"Don't say that," Tali snapped.

"What's really going on captain, you owe me an explanation," Shepard said.

"You needed a ship Shepard, the Normandy is quick and quiet and if the worst happens with the transformers…"

"Cybertronians!" Bumblebee interrupted.

Udina widened his eyes at the sudden sight of the yellow mini. He continued staring at the scout as he changed to robot mode. Anderson and Shepard however carried on their conversation.

"I'm needed here Shepard, the truth is my role as captain of the Normandy was never meant to be permanent. In preparation for the arrival of the Decepticons, the Alliance has commissioned a small fleet of ships for my command, the shakedown was to be my last run before I was officially promoted to Admiral," the captain, or former captain explained.

"Congratulations Anderson, but what about Saren?" Shepard asked.

"I trust you'll be able to catch him, and uncover the truth of these reapers and the Cybertronians. You know the crew, they trust you and with spectre authority you'll be able to use whatever means necessary to get the job done."

"But keep in mind you still represent humanity and the alliance, you make a mess and I get stuck cleaning it up," Udina said, nervously turning away from Bumblebee.

The scout mimicked the ambassador's pose, crossing his arms together and frowning at Shepard. He quickly put his hands behind his back as Udina looked at him.

"There is another issue, this thing," Udina gestured to Bumblebee.

"You want to ride with us Bumblebee?" Shepard asked.

"I'd love to Shepard, its supposed to be a whole political gesture too, I'm your prisoner," he transformed to car mode and revved his engine.

"Crew, get into Bumblebee," Shepard said.

"When you say it like that…" Bee groaned.

"There's no way I'm fitting in there," Wrex huffed.

"I'm not going with that thing either Shepard," Tali said. "In fact I can't work with any of them!"

"I thought the pilgrimage was about giving yourself for the whole," Shepard threw the Quarian's earlier words back at her. "I understand you're nervous Tali, but Bumblebee will be in the cargo hold, you're going to have to go past him to get to engineering and Wrex…yeah you're right there is no way you're going to fit in a mini," she sighed.

"Joker, we have cargo entering the bay," Anderson said over the radio.

"Roger that captain, this one isn't going to strip off like the last one is he?" Joker asked.

Anderson ignored the pilot's joke and returned his attention to Shepard.

"Good luck out there Shepard, Anderson I'll need to see you in my office when you're done," Udina said as he walked past Shepard.

"So what is the history between you and Saren?" Shepard asked.

Anderson lowered his head and sighed.

"Ten years ago my unit and I reacted to an SOS on the Skylian Verge, Dr Qian and his science team on Sidon had discovered some kind of artefact that unfortunately caught the attention of a group of mercenaries. At the same time Saren was tracking these mercenaries, the alliance was pushing for a spectre candidate and the council agreed that I could work with Saren to find, eliminate the threat and recover the research data. He seemed intent on not making me a spectre, I don't know why but he hates humans with a passion, maybe he thinks we're growing too fast…maybe he's right," Anderson sighed. "We tracked the mercs to an element zero refinery…in order to cover more ground Saren and I split up, after recovering hostages though the refinery began to collapse, multiple explosions were triggered, Saren had blown up the refinery."

"How many casualties?" Shepard asked.

"All of the ring leaders, even Dr Qian himself, whatever details of the research was lost and hundreds of people in the nearby settlement were caught in the explosion. At the inquest Saren put in his report that I had given his position away, forcing him to take such measures but I think he trigged the detonations on purpose," Anderson explained.

"What reason could he have to do that?"

"Saren is out there for one reason only, to overthrow the council and wipe us out, so long as he is out there none of our colonies are safe. I've seen how he is on missions, when he's killed there's no hesitation in his eyes, no conscience, he would murder a hundred, no a thousand to get what he wants," the captain said fiercely.

"This may sound a little cold sir but sometimes a thousand need to die for a million to live," Shepard said.

"I know how the world works Shepard, but only if there is no other way, Saren doesn't even bother to look."

"Well I'm not going to make that mistake Anderson, don't worry I'll stop him," Shepard offered the man a salute but he shook his head.

"No, the Normandy's yours now Shepard, good luck."

Shepard gladly took Anderson's hand, shaking it. She saluted him over her shoulder though as she walked into the main entrance of the ship. A part of Shepard knew that Anderson wasn't being completely honest with her, that he had omitted certain details of his experience with Saren. She saw the look in his eyes; it had gone deeper than losing the opportunity to become a spectre. Her instincts and imagination told her there was probably a woman involved, and curiously she wondered if the mission had any connection to Saren's present actions.

'I'll have to talk to Joker about it later,' Shepard thought as she changed into her fatigues.

The Normandy was abuzz with activity. Her crew was already getting to work, the engines were humming, CIC was active and the galaxy map had lit up the bridge like a Christmas tree. Shepard imagined similar activity on the G1, the massive shuttle was going through its own activation sequence. Areas of the shuttle slid and made clacking sounds, transformation was a vital component of Cybertronian physiology and that quality also passed to their technology as well. The ship's thrusters and wings extended from its body. Joker smiled as he looked at the ship from his side view. Jazz had a similar smile on his face. Both pilots were eager to get their babies going.

'"Keelah!" Tali gasped, looking at the Normandy's drive core.

"You're our new engineer right? Take position by the monitor there," she nervously nodded at Adams's orders.

"WOW LOOK AT THAT DRIVE CORE!" Bumblebee yelled from the doorway.

"GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THERE AND STEP OVER TO THE MAKO!" Garrus yelled at the scout.

Shepard walked down CIC and Optimus sat at his command chair. He was already clad in his new armour, one to match his change in name. The armour instead consisted of red colours on his chest and blue on his legs. But perhaps most defining of all was the blue helmet and grey mask on his head.

"Autobots, time to fly," he said.

"Way ahead of you Optimus, just wanted to give old creaky knees a head start," Jazz smirked.

"Oh you're gonna pay for that one Jazz, just you wait you'll be radioing us saying 'please slow down,'" Joker said.

Shepard walked to Joker's side and crossed her arms together.

"Pretty bad about the captain right, leads a hundred missions and then gets done in by backroom politics," the pilot sighed.

"We'll see him again, still it feels like I'm taking the ship from him," Shepard said.

"No one feels that way commander, everyone's with you a hundred percent and give them time, they'll warm up to that crazy bunch eventually," Joker explained.

"Thanks Joker, its good to know where you stand too, I'd like the speaker now," she said.

"All yours commander!"

Shepard placed her hand on the button for the intercom.

"Everyone, this is your captain speaking, we have our orders but its more than that, this is something we have to do. You all saw what happened at Eden Prime, that act of terrorism was committed by Saren and the Fallen, and it's our duty to stop them. We know they're hiding somewhere in the traverse, that they are looking for the conduit. Wherever they go we'll follow, we'll chase them down to the edge of the galaxy if we have to, we will stop them. You are the greatest crew the alliance has to offer but we are not alone in this fight, we have allies, people who are willing to step up and help us, doing this will not only prove that we can work together but that humanity has to something to offer to the galaxy, because that's the importance of this mission, this mission is bigger than humanity's interests, those are the stakes and failure is not an option but take heart we are not alone!"

She looked at the side window, matching eyes with Optimus. The Autobot captain nodded his head as a sign of acknowledging Shepard's will for the mission. It wasn't just to stop Saren and the Fallen but to prove to the council that humanity deserved to be on the council, with the Autobots beside them.

"Lets get this ship in the air," Shepard finished her speech in a sharp authoritative voice.

"Yes ma'am!"

"You heard Shepard, lets fly," Optimus threw his arm forward.

The magnetic locks on both ships lifted away from them. Both the Normandy and the G1 took off, zooming past the limits of the city, through their escort and towards the citadel's mass relay.

* * *

Liara remembered a time in her youth at Armali. She had been digging in the grass for ruins as she always did, her mother always lectured her about it but would always get her a new history book after each instance. Except one time, Liara had been unfortunate to actually discover ruins; she fell into a cave and was trapped for hours, she'd actually lost track of how long she had been alone. But when he mother found her, Liara remembered the furious expression her mother had. She knew she had been more worried than angry, but as a young toddler nothing was more terrifying to Liara than seeing her mother angry. At a hundred years old she used to fear Benezia's disapproval, until she found herself trapped in a cave again.

'By the goddess,' Liara thought as the monstrous creature stretched its neck.

As the monster opened its mouth, releasing a sharp roar, Liara dived under the crystals and waded towards a formation of rocks. She pressed her body against the rocks, widening her eyes as she saw a huge metallic tail resting beside it. The monster raised its tail and moved its head around, roaring again.

"Mmmraaargh! That was possibly the longest cycle I've ever had to rest," the creature remarkably spoke.

His voice had a fierce edge to it, but it was somewhat calm. At least as calm as a dragon's voice could be. That's when Liara realised that he wasn't roaring, but yawning and stretching his limbs around.

"Its been so long since I've entertained, come now young Asari, don't be shy," the creature stretched its head, curling around the rock formation and looking at Liara. "Barely reached the matron stage I see, I wondered when your civilisation would find me. Sorry about the mess, regardless of time you cant really clean up when you have no thumbs, tell me your name child, mine is Sky Lynx."

"Liara, Liara T'Soni!" she gulped.

"Nice to meet you Liara Liara T'Soni!"

"No its just Liara T'Soni," the Asari corrected.

"Still afraid I see, its not unexpected, believe it or not there was a time when I was actually quite handsome though still insufferable to others. Although perhaps by Batarian or Yahg standard my behaviour would be quite acceptable," the transformer explained as he moved his head back to its original position.

Liara nervously exited her hiding place and looked up at the huge Cybertronian. From seeing comparisons between Optimus and the Krogan she had realised how big Cybertronians got, but Sky lynx was another matter entirely. He really was the size of a shuttle, perhaps big enough to carry multiple transformers.

"You know about Batarians and the Yahg?" Liara asked.

"Yes, I used to monitor communications you see, after the Batarians pulled that horrifying act on Mindoir I stopped listening. Tell me Liara T'Soni have the Batarians and your people fixed themselves yet?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well you see there is something clearly inherently wrong with a species that thinks slavery is acceptable, when they've kept it around for thousands of years, though I suppose the Asari at least have the decency to hide their slavery are they still calling it indentured servitude?" Sky Lynx asked.

"I haven't been to Asari space in fifty years," Liara said.

"I see, you're remarkably young for a working Asari, let me guess you're a hundred," Sky Lynx said.

"Only a hundred and six."

"Well I'm only…hmm, I'd say I'm roughly ninety thousand years old, give or take a few hundreds years but still youg I might add."

"You Cybertronians have remarkably long life spans," Liara gasped.

"Indeed, there actually came a time when we believed we were the first sentient beings to ever exist, but I believe every species sees themselves as the centre of the universe," Sky Lynx sighed and then narrowed his eyes slightly. "You know what I am don't you Asari? How do you know of Cybertronians?" he asked.

"I'm an archaeologist, I came here seeking knowledge about the Prothean extinction but I found your…I suppose runway would be a good guess," Liara explained.

"You found the pictogram I see, good, I trust you were able to decipher its meaning."

"No, what does it mean?" she asked.

"It mentioned nothing of Cybertronians, where did you learn our true name from? It wouldn't have come from any Prothean data, they insisted on calling us machines, they labelled us the Metacon to be destroyed. Its actually quite funny, as an archaeologist you probably seen Prothean depictions of the war, they liked to think that they were turning the tide when the truth is once we began striking back they revealed their true colours as simple bullies, AND RAN AS ALL BULLIES DO!"

The chamber shook at the thunder of Sky Lynx's voice. Despite how initially calm he appeared, Liara was seeing the anger he had pent up inside of him.

"I'm sorry Liara T'Soni, we were greatly wronged by the Protheans, and any revenge wouldn't have been justified. The truth is we weren't any better," Sky Lynx sighed.

"Yes, the corrupt caste system that your council of Primes enforced," Liara said.

Sky Lynx lowered his head, nearly touching Liara because of how close he was.

"How did you know about that?" he asked.

"Optimus Pax told me."

"Optimus Pax," Sky Lynx hummed curiously. "Tell me what you can about this Optimus Pax!"

* * *

The Normandy and G1 were both generally evenly matched in terms of their speed. It was to be expected though; the Normandy had a good pilot. Ironhide stood in his armour making adjustments to the weapons. He was operating on a path blaster, connecting numerous tubes to the chamber that would regulate its power. A small, human shaped car rolled up behind the weapons expert, transforming into a yellow and white robot.

"Sparkplug, what are you doing here, Ah oughta tell Ratchet you're out of the engineering bay, why are you here?" Ironhide asked.

The Minicon communicated his needs through a series of beeps, the usual method most unawakened Minicons used. Awakened was a term Autobots used to refer to Minicons whom had developed full sentience. Sparkplug was one of the first but unlike Red Alert preferred to still communicate through the Minicon language.

"What?" Ironhide widened his eyes slightly. "What exactly do you mean Ratchet is hiding something?" he asked.

Sparkplug raised his hands to speak again, but the said Autobot medic entered the armoury.

"Ratchet, good to see you," Ironhide said.

"I came looking for Sparkplug, the other Minicons reported him missing, come along Sparkplug we have work to do," Ratchet said.

Ironhide looked at the Minicon, whose lips had fallen low in a depressed stare.

"You know I think Sparky might be right!"

Ironhide jumped up slightly as Cliff Jumper appeared behind him. The Autobot infiltrator had returned to his original form since arriving on the ship.

"What exactly are you doing sneaking around lad?" Ironhide asked.

"You know I like it when you're afraid, and quite frankly you've been scared since the captain turned against Rodimus, but you've always been loyal to him, you've even started calling him Prime," Cliff explained.

"Because I believe in him lad, I think Ratchet believes in him too. But he just seems uneasy lately, especially with these flashes that Prahm keeps having," Ironhide said.

"He thinks we haven't noticed but he blacks out sometimes, that outburst to the council wasn't what he was like when we first met him."

"You're wrong there kid, he always had some anger in him and a little savagery too. Should've seen him during the battle of Tigerpax, even though Octane escaped Orion managed to kill off his lieutenants on his own," Ironhide explained.

"Exactly, there's no way a bot whose been a clerk for as long as Orion said he's been can fight that well," Cliff Jumper said.

"You think the captain is hiding something?" Arcee asked as she entered the room.

"Great, we might as well get it out in the open," Cliff sighed.

"Get what out in the open?" Blaster asked.

Ironhide and Cliff Jumper both shook their heads and invited the two bots into the armoury. Shutting the door behind them, the bots had unknowingly been watched by Ratchet. The medic resumed his walk back to engineering, robbing his brow plate with a sigh.

"It seems we truly can't escape our sins," he muttered.

Sparkplug looked at the guilty expression on Ratchet's face. There was no way he could be a traitor, but something did weight heavily on his conscience. Meanwhile Optimus and Jazz sat on the bridge, looking at a display of Therum and establishing a communications link with the Normandy.

"Okay lets see…what do you do in your downtime, besides racing?" Joker asked.

"I don't know, what do you do in your downtime besides flying?" Jazz asked.

"Point taken, there really isn't much else for us is there?"

"True, racing was, Primus it is my life," Jazz chuckled.

"I'll be a pilot for as long as I can, I might become a public shuttle pilot for the transportation industry," Joker said.

"Ever thought about interstellar racing, those modified tridents they use are great, really good engineering!"

"Nah, I'll leave the alliance at an age where I'm too old to fly fast, what about you?" Joker asked.

"There's not really such a thing as retirement on Cybertron, Primus most Autobots want to go down in a blaze of glory, I'd probably settle for something quiet, maybe once my spark has reached its limit," Jazz explained.

"You two seem to be hitting it off rather well," Shepard said as she walked up behind Joker.

"We're approaching Therum now commander, better decide who you're taking with you on the ground team," Joker explained.

"There's a Geth drop ship scouring the surface of the planet," Jazz said.

"Their forces are focused on a settlement near a volcano, it appears to be an excavation sight but there are no life signs detected," Optimus explained.

"She can't be dead can she?" Shepard asked.

"Its possible that the site extends into the volcano, if so then that would interfere with our sensors," Jazz said.

"Then we'll have to land and look for her ourselves," Shepard said.

"Ironhide, Cliff Jumper, Arcee prepare for a ground mission," Optimus spoke over the intercom.

The three Autobots raised their heads to their leader's voice.

"This is probably something we should discuss later," Ironhide sighed.

As the three of them began walking to the cargo bay, Blaster stayed behind, stroking his chin inquisitively. Though the conversation had been interrupted the point of it still stood. Ratchet and Optimus were both hiding something, something more than just guilt over past mistakes. Blaster walked to the corner of the armour and closed his eyes. A device like an antenna extended from his back as he accessed his old communications hub. Blaster understood the need to hide the past; after all he hadn't exactly been honest about his past either.

Blaster had been a radio show host. But Teletraan 1 was more than just his program; it was the system he used for hacking government servers. The closest organic comparison Blaster could find to what he did was an old human website called Wiki leaks. He broadcasted information provided by anonymous parties but eventually began hacking communication and data channels himself. Of course he was discovered and would have faced capital punishment if not for the untimely deaths of the council.

"Accessing Iacon parliament archives," Teletraan 1's voice echoed through Blaster's sensors.

"Inquiry: Orion Pax!" Blaster said.

"Retrieving data…no data available within Iacon parliament records, worker data received!"

"Worker data, Optimus said he had originally started as a construction worker within Kaon. Access Kaon construction worker records, retrieve data," Blaster tapped his arm impatiently.

"Retrieving data…no data available within Kaon construction worker records, Inquiry: did you mean Iacon construction worker records?" Teletraan 1 asked.

'What, but Optimus said that he started as a construction worker at Kaon,' Blaster thought of the contradictory accounts. "Retrieve personnel records, Orion Pax, Iacon hall of records clerk!"

"No data acquired for hall of records, have acquired alternative data."

"Then give it to me T1," Blaster said impatiently.

"Retrieving personnel data, Orion Pax, construction worker, part of team that built Iacon following disappearance of Nova Prime and the declaration of a new ruling council!"

Blaster widened his eyes, immediately cutting his connection with Teletraan 1. The construction of Iacon predated the time Optimus should have come online by billions of years. Whoever Orion Pax was, he had never been a records clerk, in fact the only impact he had was enough to make a short summary of a regular construction worker.

"We are approaching the drop zone, Blaster get to your station," Optimus ordered over the intercom.

"Yes sir," Blaster said nervously.

"We're picking up something on our long range scanners," Navigator Pressly said.

Shepard finished putting on her hard suit, alongside Ashley and Wrex. She narrowed her eyes as the bay doors opened. A formation of jets was flying close to the G1.

"ITS STARSCREAM!" Ironhide yelled.

"DECEPTICONS ATTACK!" the air commander yelled.

A blast suddenly hit the side of the Normandy, knocking the people in the cargo hold off balance. Shepard climbed into the Mako and gestured to Bumblebee.

"WE NEED TO GO NOW!" she yelled.

Bumblebee nodded, transforming to his original minicab form. He followed the Mako off of the ship, using his belly rockets to soften his landing. The Autobot scout slid towards a magma pool. He quickly transformed and jumped over the pool, landing on an island.

"That was close," he sighed.

Bumblebee looked up, Thrust and Ramjet were pursuing the Normandy and the remainder of the Seekers were locked on the G1, blasting it mercilessly. Starscream laughed as he fired a volley of missiles, hitting the top of the G1. The crew felt the ship shake.

"GETH INCOMING!" Ashley yelled.

Bumblebee turned and raised his hands, blocking the pulse rifle fire fro the Geth troopers coming over the hill. Shepard aimed the Mako's turret and fired off a volley, mowing the troopers down. She then looked up at the G1 as it began flying towards the Normandy.

"What are those foolish Autobots doing?" Starscream asked.

"They're using themselves as a shield to protect the humans," Skywarp said.

"Starscream we need to find Jetfire, he disappeared as soon as we hit orbit. Jetfire is a wild card we cant afford to have on his own right now, or even at the Autobots side." Thundercracker explained.

"You think I'm concerned about that cowards location, if he doesn't want to fight then we'll claim the glory ourselves," Starscream transformed in midair and fired a missile directly into the G1's thrusters.

"We've lost engine 1 Optimus," Ratchet said. "Our shields are down to ten percent, I can restore them with Energon but it wont do us much good with our thrusters damaged," he explained.

"Ironhide, Arcee, Cliff Jumper get to ground now, Jazz and Blaster you join them. Ratchet get the Minicons to the escape pod and as much equipment as they can carry," Optimus dove into full leadership mode, getting off his chair and activating the auto turrets.

The turret fire distracted the seekers and gave the Normandy time to fly over the volcano. Geth Colossi fired their blasts at the ship, but Joker easily dodged the blasts. He widened his eyes slightly as Astrotrain appeared over one of the hills. Despite being a troop transporter, Astrotrain still had weapons. He fired his rifle, sending a blast flying towards the Normandy. Joker swerved to the side and a round flew from the main battery, hitting Astrotrain in his right eye. The Decepticon let out a yell as the Normandy swooped over him.

"Told you my calibrations were better," Garrus said, standing behind the main gunner Hector Emerson.

"Starscream, let me go after the humans, they're deceptively stronger than we first believed," Thundercracker said.

"HA! You just want to go after the easier target Thundercracker, focus on the G1, blast it out of the sky," Starscream growled.

"Time to roll," Cliff Jumper said as he, Arcee and Ironhide drove out of the cargo bay.

"The Autobots are abandoning ship," Ramjet said.

"Don't break formation Ramjet!"

Despite Starscream's orders, Ramjet broke off from the main formation and fired at the Autobots driving across the land. They drove over a hill and down into a chasm.

"HA! COWARDS!" Ramjet yelled.

He grunted, feeling a sharp weight on his tail. Jazz hung off of Ramjet's tail from his grappling hook.

"Surprise Decepticreep," Jazz said before firing a blast into Ramjet's belly.

He swung off of Ramjet, landing smoothly on the ground. Ramjet transformed to robot mode, clutching the wound on his chest. Several blasts suddenly flew out of the chasm, the other three Autobots had been waiting. They fired their blasters as Ramjet flew into their line of sight. One blast after another struck the seeker, breaking off pieces of his armour. Jazz fired his grappling hook, hitting Ramjet's leg. He then gave the line a sharp tug, redirecting Ramjet straight into a pool of lava.

"RAMJET!" Thundercracker yelled.

"The fool, this is what happens you disobey my orders, Rodimus will deal with them. Bring that Autobot ship down, then we can tear the matrix from Orion's chest," Starscream explained.

Ratchet ran through the corridors of the ship, leading the Minicons behind him.

"I NEEDED THAT!" he yelled as the Minicons dropped his welder.

"Ratchet, Blaster are you at the escape pods yet?" Optimus asked over the radio.

"Almost there Optimus, but no trace of Blaster, where the slag is he?" Ratchet asked.

"I'm just securing our communications codes sir, we cant let the Decepticons recover it, if so then they might be able to infiltrate the Citadel by copying our access codes," Blaster explained.

"Get out of there Blaster that's an order," Optimus said as he grabbed the path blaster from the armoury.

"I'm almost done," Blaster said.

He clapped his hands together, having succeeded in erasing the flight data. The G1 began getting closer and closer to Liara's dig sight and into Astrotrain's firing range.

"G1, brace yourselves that big one is aiming his cannon right at you!" Joker warned.

But the pilot's warning came too late. Bumblebee, the ground team and the other Autobots widened their eyes as Astrotrain fired a beam straight at the G1's bridge. The Autobots watched as multiple explosions broke chunks off of the ship that had been their home for many thousands of years. Inside the ship alarms blared, colouring every corridor red as fired began to spread. An explosion suddenly threw Blaster against a wall. He croaked weakly, clutching the exposed circuitry on his chest.

"Optimus, I've taken a hit," he said.

Ratchet loaded the Minicons onto one of the escape pods and widened his eyes. He heard the weakness in Blasters voice and knew that he would be mere minutes from going into stasis lock, unless he overrode the protocol. That would result in the loss of his spark if he resumed his reckless behaviour. Blaster suddenly yelled in agony as pieces of debris fell on top of him.

"Ratchet take the escape pod and go," Optimus said as he drove through the corridors of the ship.

"No Optimus, get out of here, leave with Ratchet," Blaster said.

"I can hear the explosions Optimus if I wait any longer…"

"Then go Ratchet, I'll figure out another way to escape the ship."

Optimus transformed to robot mode and crashed through pieces of debris. He threw others aside and made his way towards Blaster. Ratchet squeezed his hand into a fist before slamming it into the release for the escape pod. The minicons would be fine with Sparkplug and Red Alert. Optimus's armour groaned as he lifted the debris off of Blaster's body.

"What are you doing Optimus? You need to get out of here," Blaster said.

"I'm not leaving you!"

"You're gonna die," Blaster growled.

"No one dies today," Ratchet said as he ran up to the wounded Autobot.

"You both came?" Blaster asked.

"We die fighting alongside one another or not at all, no one else gets left behind," Optimus said as he threw off the last piece of debris.

Ratchet transformed to ambulance form and opened his rear doors. Optimus lifted Blaster up and loaded him into Ratchet's cargo bay. With his eyes narrowed in determination he turned to the wall. The barrel of his path blaster expanded before unleashing an energy bolt that pierced through wall after wall, creating a hull in the side of the G1.

"NOW RATCHET ROLL OUT!" Optimus yelled.

The medic engaged his rocket boosters, driving through the holes in the wall and practically flying out of the ship. Thrust took notice of the hole in the G1 and flew towards it.

"Attempting to escape I see," he said cockily.

He widened his eyes as Optimus sped towards him in truck form. Optimus slammed into Thrust, knocking him off balance. Optimus yelled as the G1 slid across the side of the volcano, crushing the Geth in the dig site. He engaged his rockets, swerving to avoid pieces of debris falling from the sky. Optimus changed to robot form, dragging his arm to stop himself. He looked at the remains of the G1 and sighed.

"I have failed," he said.

"Indeed, and what a mess you made of it too!"

Optimus narrowed his eyes and turned to where the voice had come from. Scrapper stood with his arms crossed, his fellow Constructicons were stood around him.

"Optimus, Blaster has received heavy damage, I can put him into stasis lock and come and assist you," Ratchet said.

"No, stay with Blaster, drive across the landscape and try to find the Minicons, everyone else join up with Bumblebee and Shepard and find Doctor T'Soni," Optimus explained.

"Don't be foolish Autobot, you cant possibly hope to overcome the five of us," Hook said.

"There's no way you can win," Starscream said as he and his fellow seekers landed around Optimus.

"I owe you for tackling me," Thrust growled.

Optimus stood his ground, pulling his axe off of his back. Starscream laughed as Optimus prepared himself for battle.

"We need to help Optimus and quickly," Jazz said.

"He ordered us to go to Shepard, I say we obey our orders," Arcee said.

"Might I offer a suggestion!"

The Autobots prepared their weapons, aiming them at the three figures standing on the hilltop. Rodimus stood with Prowl and Warpath, looking down at the Autobots.

"Stand down team Pax, its over," Prowl said.

"Calm down Prowl, I'm sure we can forgive their actions, they were after all following orders," Rodimus said. "Join us, help us to apprehend the traitor and then we can resume our mission to restore peace to Cybertron," the Autobot leader explained.

"Don't listen to him, remember how he executed our comrades," Optimus said.

"SILENCE!" Starscream yelled. "Pathetic Autobot, do you really think you can stand against us, it's nine against one," the commander laughed.

"Count again!"

The Decepticons and Optimus widened their eyes as Jetfire landed at Optimus's side. He stood proudly with the Autobot rebel, sliding out his wrist blades. Jetfire nodded to Optimus and the pair went back to back. Starscream grit his teeth together before releasing a yell.

"DECEPTICONS! KILL THEM BOTH!"

* * *

"By the goddess, what was that?" Liara asked out loud.

She had just finished telling Sky Lynx about Optimus and his crew and the discovery they had made on Eden Prime. The Cybertronian dragon/shuttle grinned, feeling the volcano shake because of the G1's crash landing. He raised his head until it touched the ceiling, soaking in the glow of the Energon around him.

"That is the battle above us, our war has come to your world Liara T'Soni," Sky Lynx said.

"Optimus and his crew must have come to rescue me, I cant stay here much longer I need to get out of here," Liara explained.

"Don't worry Liara, I have the perfect transport."

"Where is it?" the Asari asked.

"You're looking at it," Sky Lynx chuckled.

Liara stood in silent shock as Sky Lynx narrowed his eyes.

"Time for me to rejoin the rest of the galaxy, and to meet this Optimus you spoke of!"

Next Chapter 10: Sky Lynx's flight

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, and you all guessed right, Sky Lynx will act as the replacement for the G1. Next time Jetfire and Optimus team up against the Decepticons as Rodimus tries to recruit the other Autobots and Sky Lynx exits his chamber in style.

Quick detail about the voice I imagined Sky Lynx having, probably not very imaginative but his chamber was inspired by Smaug from the Hobbit, so I also imagined Benedict Cumberbatch voicing him (in his fierce Smaug voice, but in terms of attitude more on the lines of Sherlock).

Tell us what you thought of the chapter please


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